Life Begins at Forty
by secret x
Summary: Molly is bored of her quiet domesticity and longs for more. When Gilderoy Lockhart comes into her life, she can hardly believe her luck! But things are not all they seem. Arthur, Gilderoy, Molly, Snape. Rated R for sex scenes.
1. Dreaming and scheming

_Hello to whoever reads this story. If you read The Restricted Section and want more then I will be doing a sequel, but for now this is one I just had to write. It's a little different, as I haven't found any other stories about Gilderoy and Molly so here goes!_

Gilderoy Lockhart walked out of the doors of St Mungos, with only a suitcase, a small cardboard box and his wand. That was pretty much all he had left, apart from a few clothes, after nearly all the people who bought his books about his supposed adventures, had wanted their money back. So all his possessions had been sold, as a result, as he had no other assets (he wasn't much of a saver). The news that he might not have been totally honest about his so-called 'heroics'; had beengleefully exposed by the Daily Prophet and it had made him rather unpopular for a while. It had all died down now though and his die-hard fans had still been writing to him while he had been in hospital. He had read and reread the letters many times and thoughtfully sent them all thank you letters in return, together with a signed photograph. One thing he had remembered was that it was always a good idea to keep your fans happy, after all they were the people who made you famous. He had also realised, that fans, where often people you could – if all else failed – borrow money off and could also be useful to vouch for your good character in court, if need be!

Gilderoy wasn't much of a wizard and apart from his looks, the only remarkable thing about him was his ability to con people into thinking he was. He didn't like to think of it as conning, as to him it was more like 'charming' them - into doing or giving him what he wanted. His philosophy was, that, if he gave them pleasure and they were willing to give, why should anyone complain?

He went straight to the Leaky cauldron using the map the hospital had given him and ordered a much needed Fire whisky. He got a curt nod and a brief inquiry into his health, from the barman, who seemed to know him well, thenwent to find a seat. He only had vague memories of this bar, maybe he he'd visited it too little often, or maybe the memories just hadn't returned yet. He did remember the smell though; sort of mix between damp cellars and musty old clothes.

As he sat there he began to think and scheme.. He'd always managed to get a good scam going in the past, sometimes involving people of rather dubious backgrounds.His last one had been brilliant, the best one he'd ever done - until it went pear shaped that is.

Even though most people knew about the books, thankfully, they didn't know the truth about that fateful night when he lost his memory (of which neither did he, fully). That meant he could tell them pretty much anything and make himself out to be a hero if he wanted -but that wasn't much use if hardly anyone believed anything you said anymore. No, what he needed was a legitimate business, something that would make people believe in him again and would help him to regain his good name. Being popular and well thought of was very important to Gilderoy, as it made it easier to scam people. The trouble was, he was nearly totally broke and could hardly afford to buy anything but food at the moment, let alone to set up a business.

At least he'd secured himself a place to live; he'd used his inimitable charm on the female receptionist at the hospital. He'd sent her on some silly errand and while she was gone he had managed to sneak a peak at the medical records. He'd perused them until he'd found a wealthy patient that was likely to own a nice comfortable home and would be staying in for a good while. He'd then also located the patient in the hospital and had spoken to the rather confused old gentleman at length; in order to gethis password, which he'd need, as it was almost impossible to get into a magical home without the correct one and anyway Gilderoy was a con, but he drew the line at breaking and entering (he was too scared of getting caught!)

While sipping his drink, he went through his box again. It contained all the letters that he'd been sent, mostly from ladies of a certain age, telling him things like; they never believed a word the paper said and still had all his books and would always treasure them. Reading the letters made him feel good and he needed an ego boost at the moment. As he worked his way through the box, one letter in particular stood out from the rest, it was from someone called Molly Weasley. Molly sounded particularly keen and seemed to have a special interest in his magical pest control methods and said that she had always used his books to get rid of them in her own home.

"Hmm, pest control...pest control" He thought, "Yes! Maybe I could set up a pest control business and get _her_ to help me! She sounds like the 'Salt of the earth' type and she mentions that her husband works for The Ministry, so he must be worth a bob or two; perfect! Of course, I'll have to sweet talk her into putting up the capital we need - yes I'll really have to turn on the old charm for that!"

Gilderoy, of course hadn't remembered that Weasley had been the second name of one of his students at Hogwarts, his memory was still unfortunately a little full of holes.

He drained his glass and left The Leaky Cauldron, waiting until someone else had left first so he could gain access to Diagon Alley, as he couldn't remember the sequence for the bricks.

He wandered along the street with the hood of his cloak pulled low over his face, so that hopefully no one would recognise him, as he didn't want to draw attention to himself too much just yet. He made it appear he was just window shopping, when in reality the cogs were whirring away in his devious little mind. He felt that to get Molly interested he needed to be the Lockhart she remembered and not the rather pathetic one he was now. Yes he'd have to do something about his rather disheveled appearance. Hewould alsoflatter her and make her feel special by saying things like – 'I could of chosen any number of people but went for you' and that sort of thing. He had to make her an offer that she just couldn't refuse.

"Yes!" he said rubbing his hands together excitedly. "All I need to do is send out the hook and then reel her in.. I just hope she takes the bait!"


	2. The bait is taken!

Molly Weasley was sitting at her kitchen table, staring at the cup of tea in front of her. She was feeling downtrodden, unappreciated and quite resentful. She had spent all these years of doing everything for her husband and children, keeping the house nice, making sure they were all fed and had clean clothes to wear, but did they ever say 'thank you' or offer to help anymore – no. She sighed and after draining the last of the tea from her cup, she got up and began to start her housework again.

Arthur had been working long hours at The Ministry lately, because of the encroaching war and was coming home very tired and not much in the mood for talking. She put his dinner on his lap in front of the fire every night and after eating it, he fell asleep where he was, leaving Molly to go to bed alone.

Is this all her life was now, just drudgery and boredom? Where had all her dreams gone? When she had been at school, she had wanted to be an Auror, but all that had gone by the way side, when her and Arthur had got serious. She had focused all her time and energy on him and as pretty much as soon as they had left school they had got married. Madly in love, she couldn't wait to start a family and settle down to a comfortable life with her new husband. She had always planned to start her career once her first child had grown a little older, but then she just kept on having more children and a career had been put permanently on the back burner.

Now practically all the children were grown up and didn't need her so much, she had begun thinking about it again. But was she too old now? She still had plenty of energy and her magical talent - though not as strong as her husbands – could still be useful. She felt in the end though, that in these uncertain times, they must need as many people as possible, whatever their age. So without telling anyone she had applied to the Ministry to ask if she would be a suitable candidate for training and was still waiting anxiously for the reply.

Standing there lost in thought she jumped, when suddenly, something brown and fluffy sped in at full pelt through the open kitchen window. It skidded along the long oak table, coming to a stop in a heap on the floor.

She bent down and picked up the scruffy pile of bones and feathers that made the Weasley family Owl look like a prize winning pedigree and placed it gently back on the table. After carefully removing the note attached to it's leg, she placed the exhausted little bird on an armchair in the living room and it promptly fell asleep, snoring loudly.

She unrolled the note, expecting it to be from one of her children, but she had to sit down when she saw whom it was from as her heart had practically jumped into her mouth. It read:

_Dear Molly Weasley_

_I have now recovered from my little 'episode' and eager to get on with life._

_So I am writing to you, to make you an offer you simply can't refuse! I have a wonderful little business in the offing and I would like to ask You to run it with me._

_I have come to realise that my skills are best served in getting rid of the smaller, less dangerous, but still troublesome magical creatures that plague our daily lives so I am setting up a magical creature control business. _

_I still have some of your fan letters to me and from what you said you seem to be very keen on my methods. As you told me in your letter, you still use my books. So I couldn't think of anyone better to help me make a fresh start!_

_Please R.S.V.P as soon as possible with your answer, as I have several other people who are interested in my idea. I have heard good things about you Molly and from reading your letters I can well believe it! You are one of my most loyal, faithful and most special fans and I thought this being the case I should offer it to you first._

_Yours Sincerely_

_Gilderoy Lockhart_

Molly could hardly believe her eyes; Gilderoy Lockhart wanted to go into business with her! He had picked her out as special! She sighed and held the letter against her bosom. She knew she had no time to waste, she didn't want him to make his offer to anyone else! Quickly she got up and rummaged around for a quill, once she found one she began writing her reply immediately.

It read:

_Dear Mr Lockhart_

_Yes, of course, I would be delighted to take up your offer. When would you like to start? I am free anytime._

Yours 

_Molly Weasley_

She giggled girlishly as she attached the note to her own owls foot, as the one Gilderoy had sent was barely even breathing, let alone conscious. Errol looked at her contemptuously, as she had woken him from his nap, then he sighed and hobbled his way over to the window. He tried and failed his first two attempts to take off, but on his third attempt he finally made it and flew off out of sight.

The reply didn't come until late afternoon,

Fred and George had just apparated in with a load of washing for her to do. All she'd got out of them was an "Hello Mum! Don't mind do you, gotta go, customers waiting!" then they had gone again. Molly was still doing everything for them, even going up once a week to clean their flat, as they had convinced her they were absolutely useless at cleaning spells. It was always like a bombsite when she got there and spotless when she left. While she was tidying, she often found items of underwear that were definitely not theirs, usually being of the red or black, lacy variety. She was always asking to meet their girlfriends, but they just kept telling her it wasn't worth it as they changed them as often as they changed their boxers; "every week!"

After putting her tired owl back on his perch she opened the new note excitedly, hardly able to contain herself, it read:

_Dear Molly_

_I am simply delighted that you have accepted my proposal. Meet me in The Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at twelve o'clock to discuss the details over dinner._

_Yours Sincerely _

Gilderoy 

Molly was beside her self! She could hardly wait. What was she going to wear though! "Oh I have nothing anywhere near decent enough!" She said to her self fretfully and ran upstairs to begin rummaging through her wardrobe. She eventually decided on a blue robe she had worn for some formal event her and Arthur had been to a couple of year's back. It needed a little adjustment, as she had put on weight since then, but other than that it looked quite presentable.

That evening, she rushed around getting tea ready for everyone. Some of her boys were dropping round (as they often did) and tonight it was Fred and George and Bill and Fleur (now his fiance). She knew that Arthur would probably come in late and eat his on his lap, as usual, so she piled some on a plate and put a heat-preserving spell on it.

Arthur came in when everyone else was already half way through their dinner and afterwards fell asleep in his chair – as usual. After talking and catching up for a while, everyone apparated out, leaving Molly to the clearing up. After a few quick waves of her wand this way and that, though, she had it done in no time and then went to bed dreaming of meeting her hero the next day.

The next morning, Molly was nervously watched the clock on the mantle-piece ticking by, constantly checking and rechecking her appearance in the mirror. As soon it was time to go, she threw some 'floo powder' into the fire and after stepping into it uttered

"The leaky cauldron!"

When she arrived, dusting herself off, a few people cast curious glances in her direction, then turned back to their drinks. She went to sit down and waited... and waited. At 12.30 she was beginning to think he wasn't coming, but suddenly he bustled in through the door, slightly red-faced as if he'd been running. As soon as Molly saw him she waved furiously in his direction and beckoned him over. He looked quite harassed at first, but as soon as he saw Molly waving at him, his expression changed to his usual smarmy grin. Molly's heart leapt when she saw him come towards her.

"Oh he looks as gorgeous as ever!" She thought to herself excitedly. She suddenly felt a blush creeping over her cheeks and felt rather hot in her heavy velvet robes.

"Hello! You must be Molly! It's lovely to meet you at last!" He said in a rather over enthusiastic kind of way. As soon as he sat down next to her, he immediately grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes seriously.

"I do hope we can be friends as well as business partners Molly, as I for one believe it makes for a more harmonious working relationship!" then began smiling again.

Molly blushed even harder at this intimate gesture; she suddenly felt all girlish and giggly and couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh yes, me too!" she said rather shyly in reply

They then began discussing the details of his business plan, which as Molly found out, involved an initial investment on her part. "I've already put my half of the money in, so it's just a matter of waiting for you to sign the dotted line and put in yours." Gilderoy said encouragingly.

It sounded like a good business and Molly knew she could probably do it, but she worried about the money. Even though Arthur had been promoted recently, they still weren't that well off and the lump sum Gilderoy had suggested was nearly all the money they had in the bank. But then she thought,

"Oh, I'm sure I can soon make it back! Yes, just think how pleased Arthur will be, when he sees how much I've made for us, it will take the pressure off him a bit. Anyway, I would kick myself if I didn't take this opportunity to work with Gilderoy Lockhart..I'm so lucky he chose me!"

So she agreed to his plan and he had shaken then kissed her hand cordially, his eyes never leaving hers.

They eventually had lunch, which Molly had to pay for, as Gilderoy had unfortunately forgotten his own moneybag. He attributed this embarrassment to him having been very busy that day, what with all the organising he'd had to do and everything, but Molly had told him not to worry, as it was her pleasure.After leavingThe Leaky Cauldron, theywent down to Gringotts, to get to the Weasley family vault, chatting like they had known each other for ages. All the while they were in the old bank, the Goblins kept giving Gilderoy rather derisive looks and raising their eyebrows at Molly, but Molly didn't seem to notice. She was far too busy looking at Gilderoy herself and dreaming of her new and exciting life, her belly continually fluttering with butterflies. She just couldn't stop looking at him; he was a little older now of course and dressed much less flamboyantly, but still very handsome in her eyes. She was also fascinated by his hair, which had grown much longer than it used to be and was all, thick, blonde waves that she just longed to run her fingers through. She also appreciated all the compliments he kept giving her, something that had been sadly lacking in her life of late.

Once they had traveled down to the vault and the money was withdrawn, it was eventually transferred into an account they set up for the business. The account had only been allowed to the go-ahead, after talking at great length to the Goblins, who kept questioning Gilderoys motives and Molly's sanity; they had eventually seemed convinced though, but still suspicious. At Gilderoyrequestthey kept some of the money out, in order that they could get some supplies.

Once the goblins were out of earshot he brought out some papers he wanted Molly to sign and she nervously put her name on the official looking scroll, overlooking the fact she couldn't read the 'very' small print, as she hadn't brought her glasses. She worried about doing something so final without discussing it with Arthur first, but he was always too busy or too tired to talk properly nowadays. He would probably say no to it anyway, as she knew he disliked Gilderoy. No, she'd get it up and running first and see how it went before she told him. After all she might be his wife, but she didn't need his permission to do anything!

Then the thought came to her that justified her actions even more – _Huh, and how many times has he gone and bought something silly without asking my permission first? All the time we've been married I've always been the sensible one, well.. now I think it's about time **I** took a risk for a change! _

"Well now all that bothersome paperwork is out of the way, let us go and celebrate by getting in those supplies in for our new company!" he said, beaming widely, "and we'll need to visit the Daily Prophet to ask them to print an advert for us – erm..you'd better do that. Oh but we'll need a name first won't we? Something catchy.. something that people won't forget..." Gilderoy seemed lost in thought for a moment

"What about.. M.C.M's - Magical Creature Management? Molly suggested helpfully

"Yes, that's sounds good. Well done Molly!" Gilderoy agreed, hugging her around the shoulder in congratulation.

"Well, I think you should get down to the Daily Prophet as soon as possible, time is money and all that eh?" he stated enthusiastically

"Oh right, yes.. of course!" Molly replied, rather hesitantly as she was a still a little worried about the money, even though she had been convincing her self she was doing the right thing. She had remembered what her son and his best friend Harry had told her about Gilderoy, but then she had just dismissed it as bias against him because he had been their teacher and they'd knownthat she liked him.

Molly went to set off for the newspaper office but Gilderoy called her back.

"Look I might as well make a start getting some of the stuff we need while you are there, so.. could I have some of the money please?" He asked, then on seeing her slight frown, said, " Look don't worry, we're going to make a mint I guarantee it! You're not going to regret this I promise Molly" Lockhart drawled confidently. "By the way it's probably best not to mention my name to the paper just yet...you know after what they said about me and all." He added quietly

She nodded smiling and reassured, gave him some money.

After watching her disappear out of sight, Lockhart did a little dance of triumph then headed down towards Knockturn alley. He had a vague memory of a man down there who dealt in illegally imported potions and he used to be very cheap. Which was good in Gilderoy's eyes as he'd never minded cutting corners to save money, even if the saving meant you got poorer quality, not when it came to business anyway. In his personal life of course, he always expected the best of everything though.

As he was on his way there, a bright window display caught his eye and he stopped to look. The two owners of the shop looked out from behind their counter and couldn't believe their eyes. They grinned to each other, before going out to say hello.

"Gilderoy Lockhart!" announced Fred

"Whoever would have believed it!" chimed George

"They let you out of the loony bin then? How are you!" asked Fred

"Well I hope?" George continued

"Erm, yes..thankyou" Gilderoy answered nervously. There was something in the tone of their voices that said they weren't being as friendly as they appeared. He racked his brains trying to remember their familiar faces; did he owe them money? Or was it something else? Then he looked up and saw the name of their shop and realised they must be related to Molly in some way - sons perhaps? She had mentioned that she had grown up children. Looking at the size of them he knew he'd better watch his step very carefully. He wasn't about to let them spoil his plans though; no, he'd just have to move somewhere very far away if things went belly up!

"You up for a little fun Gildy old son?" asked George, putting his rather long arm around Lockharts shoulders

"Yes, why don't you come in and browse, see if anything takes your fancy!" added Fred, who stood the other side doing the same, sandwiching their victim in the middle.

"We've got a brilliant new line of products just in today - you can sample them if you want" smiled George

"Yes, we've developed our old 'ton tongue toffee' recipe, so if you ask someone a question while they're eating it and they tell an untruth.." (Fred)

"Their tongue swells up to the size up to the size of a Hyppogriff!" Fred added gleefully

"Or we have an amusing little potion called 'Pinocchio's peril'. Dab it on your chosen person's snout and low and behold if they fib they end up with a beak like an elephant!" suggested George

"Yes and we've discovered it works quite well on other areas too.. not that we need it mind! But some people might.." Fred sniggered suggestively, along with George and they both nudged Gilderoy, who smiled wanly in return

"Erm.. I don't think I need anything like that today thankyou lads. Actually, I'm in rather a hurry, so if you don't mind.."

"Oh, of course, don't let us hold you up. I mean we wouldn't want to lie..I mean 'stand' in your way, would we George?" Grinned Fred to his twin who grinned back

"Yes we must get back to work, I mean we don't want to be accused of 'lying' down on the job do we Fred?"

"No we wouldn't George" Fred replied, in mock seriousness

They stood back letting Gilderoy go, grinning with delight and as Gilderoy headed in the direction of Knockturn Alley, Fred called out

"Be careful..there's and awful lot of dishonest people about nowadays you know!"

"Yes like that bloke who claimed to be a great monster hunter. Turns out he made it all up, terrible business that! Funny thing is I can't remember his name.. now what was it?" laughed George

Fred pretended to be thinking hard too, but then both he and his brother could stand it no longer and collapsed into raucous laughter. Gilderoy just scowled at them tight lipped and stalked off.

After paying for the advertisement Molly found, that her pursewas nownearly empty; as she had even had to use the standby money she was supposed to keep for emergencies. She felt it was worth it though, after all, she was going to make it back like he said, wasn't she?

A week after their first meeting, they met again, to continue discussing their business plan and to wait and see if anyone would reply to their advert. (As yet they had no business premises, so Gilderoy had suggested they use The Leaky Cauldron as their postal address). All the time he had sat very close, which made Molly feel a little uncomfortable, but she had told her self that it was just his way - he was a people person, which made him very 'touchy feely' that was all.

It was a warmThursday afternoon and Molly soon began to relax and enjoy his company. She was listening rapt while Gilderoy happily talked about himself, when an owl came flying rather elegantly through the dimly lit bar. It looked around disdainfully at its surroundings and stuck its leg out for them to take its letter.

Gilderoy read it outloud

Dear M.C.M's

Could you please come to my residence 'toot sweet'? I have a rather embarrassing infestation of gnomes in my garden and as I wish to have a garden party this weekend I would appreciate your immediate disposal of the horrid things

Thankyou

Yours, Mrs Lilia Davenport

It was just what they had been waiting for - their first customer!

_Brilliant!_ Thought Lockhart. _Yes, she sounds perfect, no doubt middle aged, rich and probably gagging for a bit of male attention from someone like me!_ He planned to charge the lady a lot more than he was going to tell Molly. Yes it would be all by the book, in front of his new partner, but out of sight, he would do what he done before in times of trouble – find some rich woman, chat her up, flatter her then hopefully con some money out of her.

Gilderoy alwayswent for a certain type of woman, ones he was sure would be a pushover and more receptive to his particular brand of charm. This usually meant homely looking, middle aged women, who were insecure about them selves enough to respond positively to his flattery. He'd come on to them as if they were the most desirable woman in the world and then make love to them. Once he had gained their trust he would give them a sob story and take everything he could manage to weedle out of them. He would never steal outright though, no; he wasn't brave enough - or clever enough, but most of all - his damn conscience pricked him too much. He'd been brought up to believe it was wrong to steal and that had stayed with him, even though he'd found plenty of ways to bend that rule out of all recognition!

That afternoon, at Ms Davenport's creaky old mansion, who, much to Molly's chagrin, had also been a fan of Gilderoys and still was. She was very excited to have him in her house and after enthusing about him for a while Molly managed to interrupt and get the woman to show them the garden.

As they walked around they could see that the garden was clearly swarming with the little blighters and it was obvious that this witch; a rather plump, frivolous woman in her late forties had not de-gnomed it for a good while. She probably didn't want to get her hands dirty. Molly made a start and after throwing the first few Gnomes over the hedge, noticed that Gilderoy was still talking to the lady, who was alternately giggling and looking open-mouthed with shock. He noticed Molly watching and walked over to her, he told her that the lady had mentioned a another job back up at the house, in her living room and he was going to take care of it. Molly hadn't been very impressed at first, that she was being left to the de-gnoming by her self. That was until he had reminded her that more jobs meant more money and besides if they did well, the lady might well recommend them to her friends and that would be very good for business.

By the time she had got rid of the last gnome, Molly was quite exhausted, hot and ready for a break. She conjured up a cooling charm for her forehead and tired feet and a drink of water, which made her feel better. She then made her way back up to the house to find Gilderoy, but after going in through the French doors and calling out his name, she got no answer. She walked into the hall, frowning curiously, to see Gilderoy coming down the stairs fastening his cuff button.

"Where were you?" She asked, "I thought you said you would be in the living room?"

"Oh, the lady had a Boggart in the wardrobe; terrified of them the poor dear! She had to go for a lie down after showing it to me, I think she's alright now though."

"Did you manage to get rid of it?" Molly asked nervously, she had been terrified of Boggarts ever since the incident at Grimmauld Place.

"Oh yes of course, no trouble at all" he boasted confidently

"Good, I'm not very good with Boggarts they ...well..they really frighten me" she admitted, remembering and looking down sadly

"Oh Molly, you poor dear!" Gilderoy soothed, putting his hand on her cheek and giving her a sympathetic look. "Now don't you worry, I'll always take care of that sort of thing, You just stick to things like Doxy's and Bundimun Fungus." He added smiling

Molly smiled gratefully, but she couldn't help feeling he was patronising her a little. She also worried that she was going to end up doing all the hard work as per usual, while he did Merlin's knows what. She had managed to shake off those feelings though by the time they had 'flooed' back to The Leaky Cauldron, as despite her worries she was quite elated – they had just done their first job and it had been a complete success. Hopefully this was a sign of things to come!


	3. Said the spider to the fly

For the next month, as they had hoped, they were kept extremely busy and the money was rolling in. Molly soon got back her initial investment and was so happy to have something to do other than cook and clean, that the fact she was earning money at it was just an added bonus. It didn't even seem to bother her anymore that Gilderoy tended to do a disappearing act whenever they had a reasonably attractive female client. She had guessed by now that he was probably 'chatting them up', but she told herself she hadn't the right to be judge him asafter all he was a free agent and could do as he liked.

Two weeks after meeting Gilderoy for the first time, Molly had eventually plucked up the courage to tell Arthur what she was up to. She had worried that he wouldn't be very happy who she was in business with and he wasn't, but he had seemed pleased to have some of the pressure off him as main wage earner and that she was going to be doing something she really wanted to do. He was very dubious about Lockhart and remained so, but had told her that as long as she was happy that was good enough for him and the extra money coming in would come in handy, especially as Ron's birthday was coming up. This year they would be able to afford to buy their youngest son the best Quidditch broom on the market.

"No longer will my boy have to make do with second hand!" Molly thought, "it will always be new for him - from now on!"

The business went from strength to strength and their reputation grew. Mostly down to Molly's skill and ability, but Gilderoys irrepressible charm and coercive personality helped too.

Even after three months, Molly still had no idea how weak Gilderoys magic was, as he always seemed to have a plausible excuse for not using magic for something and she wouldneverask him about it anyway asin the wizarding world it was considered impolite to question how strong another persons magic was.

There has been a noticeable change in their relationship now; the longer they worked together, the more comfortable around each other they seemed to get. Molly was less starry eyed around him and therefore less nervous, but she still found him very attractive.

Even though she had done her best to hide it, Gilderoy knew she still fancied him and this made him very happy. It meant he could get round her much more easily and she'd be more likely to believe what he said, no matter how implausible it was. Yes it meant he could get away with a lot more, if she started to question him, he'd just turn on the old charm and she'd be putty in his hands.

Molly had noticed that he had been spending more time at her side helping herin the past few weeksand she wasn't quite sure why. As before he had always managed to find jobs to do in other parts of the house, leaving her to work alone. She never in a million years thought that he might fancy her though and just presumed his 'touchy feely-ness' was just one of his little quirks, but he did seem to be getting even more so. He often stood closer than was necessary and sometimes his hand would brush against hers or he'd put his arm around her in a friendly hug for no reason. Every time he touched her it made her pulse race and a now, familiar blush creep over her cheeks, which she kept magically charming away.

He also kept making her laugh with silly jokes and flattering her; telling her what a lovely smile she had or how good she was with her wand, or how nice her hair looked when the sun shone on it.

Molly had only ever gone out with Arthur and had no experience of being seduced by other men, so she wasn't quite sure what he was up to. She'd never been the most beautiful girl around, had been a little shy at school and had never had much confidence in her looks. So she found it very hard to believe that someone like Gilderoy could fancy her, even though he was giving her all the signs.

"Don't be so daft!" she had thought, then told her self that she must just be imagining things.

But it was after they had finished a particularly exhausting and virulent Bundimun infestation job one day, a few weeks later, that she at last realised that maybe he did have feelings for her after all. They had been standing alone together in the living room, waiting for their gentleman client to get some money to pay them and Gilderoy had given her a congratulatory kiss on the cheek. He hadn't pulled away straight away like she expected though and after kissing her he had stayed close, his body only millimetres away from hers. Looking into her eyes intensely, with a small smile playing on his lips, his hands had cupped her face gently. Molly felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach and her heart begin pounding in her chest at this unfamiliar intimacy. It had almost seemed to her, like time had stopped for just a few moments. Gilderoy had moved as soon as the client came back, rather hurriedly, a bit like a naughty schoolboy, but the client, an extremely old wizard who was deaf as a post, hadn't seemed to notice anything. Molly had been too shocked to say anything and had just followed Gilderoy blankly, as he left,'flooing' out behind him.

She wanted to talk about this incident to him afterwards, to ask him what it had meant, but was too nervous to bring it up in case maybe she had got the wrong end of the stick after all. She didn't want to him to think she was just another sycophant, like a lot of the women her sort of age they met in the course of their work. She liked to think she was more than that now – she liked to think she was his friend.

The two of them sat in The Leaky Cauldron after the Bundimun job; it being their temporary 'office' with a drink and she did some serious thinking. She knew she still loved Arthur, but he was hardly ever at home and didn't seem to be that interested in her sexually anymore. She was craving attention and Gildy, as she now called him, was giving it to her. He made her feel years younger and gave her the inkling that she might still be attractive, even if she was in her mid-forties and a little towards the plump side. And though it made her feel guilty afterwards, she found her self fantasising about him and wondering what he was like in the bedroom. She knew he'd had a rather dodgy past, but after working with him all this time, she felt that she could trust him and that he'd totally redeemed himself. She thought that now more than ever before, he really was worthy of her admiration and respect - for turning his life around so well.

Gilderoy was feeling triumphant, as he felt that at last he had broken that protective'I'm married so I'm out of bounds' shell that Molly had around her self. In fact he was so sure of Molly's admiration of him that he thought he could begin to relax and be less cautious, asever since they had been in business, he had been very careful about covering his tracks from his more dubious business dealings. He had also been embezzling the profits from the businessaccount which hadenabled him to move out of his previous lodgingstorent a swanky flat in a discerning, magical only, neighbourhood. He had then proceeded to furnish the flat and himself with all the best things in life with joyful abandon. Molly didn't suspect a thing, because he had always insisted on dealing with their clients by him self, when it came to payment. She had never minded this that much, as she hated asking people for money. He used this little insecurity of hers to his full advantage of course and never sought to increase her confidence in the area. He had just said, " just leave it to me Molly dear, don't you worry." He also insisted on doing the banking to, as he put it, to - "save her the bother", so she wouldn't find out how little there was in there. He always, of course, made sure that she got her agreed wages, every week without fail.

Gilderoy could be a good business man, if only he could a) be bothered and b) use a little forward thinking, as he tended to live in the now and leave worrying about the future until later.

Another month passed and Molly and Gilderoy were getting on better than ever and as she trusted him so much now, she had begun to confide in him about her marriage woes. The little snippets of information she gave him were very useful for Gilderoy and he knew he would be able to use them later. He had been planning on seducing Molly for quite some time and would use every trick he had could think of that had worked in the past, to do it. He knew it would be hard, as she was incredibly loyal to her husband, even though at the moment she seemed quite disillusioned with her marriage. Yes she would be a challenge, but he was up for it, he would just bide his time and wait for the right moment.

One Friday afternoon they had had a particularly hard day and Molly was tired and ready to go home; Gilderoy wasn't, because as usual he'd let her do most of the work. They had been getting rid of some troublesome ants from an old witch's cottage. The ants had accidentally become saturated with magic somehowand had become even more intelligent than before, so they had been nigh on impossible to get rid of and Molly had had to use all of her skills and magical abilities to their limits. Gilderoy had been very impressed, as had the old witch andit was then that he started to realise, just how incredibly useful to him, she could be; not only as a business partner, but maybe even as a life partner too! His mind began whirring with all the possibilities; yes his life would be much easier with her at his side. The only problem was, was getting her away from that husband of hers and the influence of those damned children that she adored so much. Gilderoy hated children, as most of them were far too clever for their own good and saw through him too easily.

They were just getting ready to go when an owl swooped down and tapped on the window of the old lady's cottage, disturbing Gilderoys train of thought. The old woman padded over and let him in and a rather distinguished looking Snowy owl, held out his leg; he had a message for Molly, it read:

_Dear Molly_

_Sorry darling but I have to work very late tonight, there is a big meeting and I must attend. I tried to get out of it but I couldn't, I hope you understand._

_Arthur _

Molly sighed and tucked the letter in her pocket, then flooed out to The Leaky Cauldron with Gilderoy.

Gilderoy had a pretty good idea who the message had been from, but questioned her about it anyway.

"What's wrong Molly dear? Have you had bad news?"

"Oh..no.. it was just from Arthur, saying he has to work late again! Ohh..I'm beginning to wonder if he is married to me or his job nowadays, I know he wants to impress them and they are very busy at the moment, but...we haven't talked or done anything together for ages. At weekends we are both busy with The Ord.., err.. _other_ things and we don't have that much time alone together then either. Oh.. it's just not the same anymore. I know there is war brewing in our world and he is needed.. but, I need him too." She said sadly, then sighed again

"Molly..I don't know how to say this, but..have you ever considered the possibility that your husband may be having a little fling with someone at work?" Gilderoy asked, trying to sound like nothing more than a concerned friend and not someone who was making smoke without fire.

"What.. No! Arthur would never do something like that!" Molly retorted quickly, truly shocked at such a notion

"But all the classic signs are there, working late, paying you little if any attention, falling asleep downstairs instead of coming to bed... and now he's working even later. I think he may have a mistress my darling." Gilderoy said convincingly, putting his arm round her comfortingly

"No, I'm certain that not the reason.. he's just tired that's all and even if he did have an affair, I'm sure that everyone would know about it, you can't hide much at that place, news spread's like wildfire round those offices." Molly replied, but nevertheless, the poisonous seed of doubt had been planted now and it burned inside her.

"Maybe it's not someone from work then. It could be anyone really, you just never know." Gilderoy said resolutely, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head sadly.

"No Gildy, I'm sure he wouldn't do that to me.." Molly answered, sounding equally resolute, but then she remembered something that had happened some months ago, something she had almost forgotten about. When her and Arthur had been to an Order meeting one time, he had spent an awfully long time talking to one particular female Auror, who at the time new to their organisation. She had been quite a lot younger than Molly and very pretty and Molly had felt a little jealous at the time.Arthur and herhad laughed together at one point in their conversation and the girl had thumped Arthur playfully in response, to which he had smiled and put up his hands in defeat. Then he had touched her arm briefly, smiling softly. Molly had kept looking over, while at the same time trying to hold a conversation with Tonks. Tonks had noticed Molly's constant vigilance of her husband and had assured her that Arthur had just taken the girl under his wing a bit, with her being so new and saw her as more of a surrogate daughter than anything else.Still worriedthough, she had questioned him at home after the meeting, but he had managed to convince her in his affable way that Tonks really was telling the truth and she had pretty much forgotten about it.

Now Molly wasn't so sure

"Gildy smiled secretly, ashe knew by her expression that he had done his job well.His little nudge was enough to start her going in the right direction, he was sure,even if she said she didn't believe it. Then he stoked the fire a little more.

"Molly..why don't you come over to my place tonight..so we can talk. I mean, unless you've got something else you'd rather do. I could even cook you a meal, if you like" He said smiling encouragingly

"I didn't know you could cook!" said Molly raising her eyebrows at him

"Oh yes, one of my many hidden talents. I know I could never match yourcooking Molly, but I have been complimented on my culinary skills in the past!" he said in mock smugness, making Molly laugh

"Oh I don't know Gildy.." she said, looking down again, feeling unsure.

"Oh go on! We're friends aren't we? And don't friends go to each others houses occasionally?" he asked reasonably. Then added, "Look any excuse to show off my new flat to you, I have been dying to show you around and this gives me the perfect excuse!"

Molly rolled her eyes in resignation and sighed, then looked at Gilderoy and smiled.

"Oh all right then I'll come! But only for a bit mind, I mean I don't know what time Arthur is finishing and I want to be there when he does"

"Oh Molly! Aren't you allowed out occasionally? Why don't you floo back and leave him a note, saying you are going to a friends house for the evening?" Gilderoy suggested

"You're right! Why shouldn't' I go out, I mean I'm a grown woman and if I want to spend the evening with a friend, why shouldn't I? I don't need his permission!" Molly announced with sudden determination. "Right, I'll just floo back home and I'll meet you backhere in a few minutes, okay!"

"Yes, I'll be waiting righthere" Gilderoy assured her

Molly flooed back home, scribbled a hurried note and pinned it to the fireplace, then ran upstairs for a quick wash and to get changed. She'd recently bought her self, some new clothes and wanted to wear her latest outfit. It was a dark green dress and matching robe, which fitted tightly at the bust and waist and flowed out from the hips to the ground, even she had to admit it looked good on her. Now she wason the go allthe time,she had recently lost some weight and nearly all her old stuff was too big for her now. She also put a brush through her hair and put on a little makeup, making her look a little less tired. In fact she didn't feel as tired as before anyway and was looking forward to spending the evening with Gildy.

Even though warning signals were going off in the back of her mind that maybe this wasn't such a good idea, she told her self it was just her usual cautious nature kicking in again and decided to ignore them. After all, likeGildy hadsaid, People go round to their friend's houses all the time don't they? Just because he happened to be a man, who may or may not be attracted to her, shouldn't make it any different, should it?

Molly flooed back to The Leaky Cauldron, feeling refreshed and energised. Gilderoy smiled when he saw her and stood up to greet her.

"Oh Molly, you look wonderful!" he gushed, looking her up and down apprasingly. "Well come on, lets go now shall we? As I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!"

He was getting her just where he wanted her and he had to keep it up. He knew he had to watch him self and not get over eager too soon and spoil everything, no, he had to play it cool – to begin with at least! Gilderoy was a very determined person when it came to getting what he wanted and had no doubt in his mind that tonight - he was going to get Molly


	4. One thing leads to another

They walked outside to the street at the back of The Leaky Cauldron and caught the Night bus toGilderoy's address on the other side of London. When they got off, Molly looked doubtfully at the great, dark hulk of a building that stoodbefore them. It looked like a disused office block from the outside,but she knew that nothing in the wizarding world was at firstas it seemed, so she held her judgement until they got inside.

Gilderoy tapped his wand on a notice, by a boarded up entrance, which said "Extreme Danger, falling masonry, do not enter". A smart red door appeared and they walked through itinto a large airy hallway, with an attendantsdesk at the far end. Gilderoy sailed past the desk confidently, waving and smiling to the rather plump man behind it. The man looked up at them, waved back and nodded with a curious smile towards Molly, who smiled back awkwardly.

They got into a magical lift,which took them directly to Gildy's front door and after he said a password to open it, they went in.

"Well.. here it is, my humble abode!" Gildy announced, indicating with his hand and hanging up his cloak on a hat stand.

Molly was taken aback, as it wasn't quite what she was expecting. She knew it was probably going to be comfortable and quite luxurious, going by Gildy's usual tastes, but she hadn't imagined anything as extravagant as this. She took in her surroundings, her mouth open in astonishment; tapestries and paintings hung on red and gold painted walls, vases and strange looking sculptures were dotted around on stands, tables or chests of drawers and alarge chandelier hung from the ceiling. A huge, black, velvet covered sofa dominated the middle of the room, with red and gold cushions scattered over it and an equally large black onyx coffee table sat in front of it. Another thing that caught her eye, was a magical painting of a naked lady with her back to the viewer,who was standing in an old-fashioned bathroom. She was washing her self with a cloth and quietly humming a little tune, seemingly oblivious to being observed. Molly raised her eyebrows and shrugged, "Well, there's no accounting for taste." she thought -rather disapprovingly.

Gilderoy, meanwhile, had disappeared into the kitchen, shouting out that he was going to start dinner. He told her that under no circumstances was she to come in and try and help and should just sit back, relax and put her feet up. Molly hadn't needed telling twice and got comfortable on the huge sofa, still curiously taking in her surroundings. An exclamation could be heard coming from his direction, but she just presumed that something must have gone wrong with dinner. As he had told her he didn't want her to come and help, she didn't go and see what though and stayed where she was, even though she really wanted to.

After a few minutes Gildy came back in carrying two glasses and a bottle in his hands and wearing a big grin on his face.

As he sat down beside her, Molly looked at him questioningly.

"What's this in aid of Gildy?" she asked, taking the glass he proffered to her.

Gilderoy could hardly contain himself.

"Well, I suppose I'd better show you!" he said excitedly, showing her a photograph of him self, standing in front of a rather grotty looking building. "I've just this minute been owled - we are now the proud owner of our very own business premises! I didn't know if we were going to get it and now we have!I've been waiting for quite some time for something as good as this to come up, I can tell you. Now,I knowthat maybeI should havetold you first,beforeI bought it, but I didn't want you to get disappointed if we didn't get it, so Ithought I'd keepit quiet until I had it confirmed in writing!" he finished enthusiastically, obviously expecting an equally excited reaction from Molly.

Molly was a little under-whelmed, she recognised the picture as one of the shops in Knockturn alley, one of the better ones admittedly, but not exactly what she'd had in mind. Shewas alsoannoyed that he hadn't discussed it with her first, but knowing what an impetuous person Gildy could be,she knew that thought probably hadn't occuredto him. Nevertheless, she felt thatshe had to show gratitude, as she'd been asking him for a while what they were going to do about premises and he'd obviously thought she'd be pleased.Previously he'd alwaysseemed to skirt the issue, always telling her he hadn't found anything suitable yet, whenever Molly had brought it up so she'd even offered to find something herself, to which hehad replied "No Molly, you have enough to deal with, I'll sort something out for us soon, I promise." She had been worried he'd been putting it off for some reason, while all this time he must have been searching high and low on the quiet and had wanted to surprise her.

"Well.. I..I don't know what to say Gildy! I'm...I'm just a bit taken aback I suppose, as all this time you've been telling me you hadn't found anything yet, so.." She said, hesitatingly, but on seeing his crestfallenexpression, she took a closerlook at the picture, frowning thoughtfully. "Well...I suppose we could make it look better with a lick of paint and a new frontage," she said, brightening, trying to show a bit more enthusiasm.

But then, he looked a little awkward, "Ah well Molly..ahem ..I meant to tell you, but I supposeI got a little carried away with the moment! I'm afraid, we do only have the top floor, so we can't really do anything like that"

"Oh" Molly said dully, her enthusiasm fading again

"Yes.. the building is owned by the people who run the shop on the bottom floor, so we can't do a lot to the outside without their permission, apart from putting up a sign and they don't really like _change_ that much so.." he explained apologetically. Then he brightened considerably and startedsmiling again, "but the inside is yours to decorate as you wish Molly. You can have free reignon that and you cando whateveryou like, as I'm sure you have excellent taste - just like me! And anyway how much room do we need? We only need somewhere to store paperwork and potions don't we?"

After Molly had nodded her conceded agreement, he began to open the bottle of wine using magic. It took a little while, as he kept having to say the correct pulling out spell several different ways before he got it right. Molly felt tempted to help him, but it was obvious he was trying to impress her, so she just waited patiently instead mulling things over.

Her initial worries on the location and size of the property, had now faded somewhat, asGilderoy had managed to successfully convince her it would be alright. "_What does it matter where we are based?" _She reasoned_ "As most people are now finding us through word of mouth anyway and won't even have to come to our office, so it I'm sure itwon't matter what it looks like - or where it is." _

Thereluctant cork suddenly came flying out from the bottle, after Gildyhad managed to say the spellcorrectly at last. It wentspeeding across to the other side of the room like a bullet out of a gun and embedded itself firmly in the wall. This madeMolly give out a little squeal of surprise as it had narrowly missed her face. Gilderoy, of course,directed the blame squarely at the bottle, saying that there must have been too much pressure inside it, makingthe corkreact a little violently to being released. He poured the wine into both of their glasses and they clinked them together in celebration, before drinking.Gilderoy quicklyemptied his glass, then went back to the kitchen to check on dinner.

Mollywas veryimpressed, with him doing them a meal, as he hadn't seemed the type to do his own cooking. Arthur had never cooked all the time they had been married, well at least not in the house. Then she remembered that it might have been due to the fact that he had said that, whenever he tried, she began "looking over his shoulder and nagging." But shefelt this was just and excuse though, as from her point of view, she wasn't "nagging", she wasonly trying to help by offering him constructive criticism.

After a few more minutes Gilderoy brought dinner in, setting it down on a rather overlarge dining room table with tall backed chairs, just outside the kitchen. As Molly walked over, he dimmed the lights a little and put on some soft music. Molly thought that he may have done it to make her feel more relaxed, but it only served to make her more nervous as it seemed to make it more intimate. Shealready felt a bit guilty about being there without Arthur knowing and she wished she had told him the truth on the note she had left for him, as for the first time in their twenty years plus of marriage she had lied to him. The note said:

"Gone to do a job at a client's house, seeing as you aren't going to be in and I may not be back until late."

They both sat down at one corner of the table and Gilderoy refilled Molly's now empty glass with more wine. The food he had prepared really was delicious and she enjoyed it very much, for the most part the fact that she hadn't had to cook it! When she complimentedhim on it, he went all false modesty, sayingthat itwas just something he "whipped up". In reality though he was very flattered by her remarks, as he loved to be thought of as good at something, even if he wasn't.

The sad truth was that Gilderoy couldn't actually cook at all, he had used a little magicaltrickery. He had got hold of an old muggle cooker, from one of his dubious associates, that had been 'magically enhanced'. All you had to do was put in all the required ingredients on a tray into the oven part, tell the cooker what you wanted it to cook, then it would do it for you and call you with a little bleep when it was done. Using a muggle appliance like this was of course illegal, but that didn't bother Gilderoy one bit, as he felt the risk of getting caught was quite small in the present climate.

After they had eaten, Gilderoy told Molly to go and sit down on the overlarge sofa again, while he went to get some more wine. Molly didn't usually drink much, and only then at parties and special occasions, but tonight shewanted to enjoy herselfa bit, for once and also hoped it might relieve her nerves a little.

They chatted for a while about general things and observances and Molly did begin to relax,then they came to a lull in conversation. Gildy was sitting with his head proppedup one arm, smiling at her intently. Molly, smiled back, wishing he wouldn't look at her like that, as it made her feel uncomfortable. She felt a blush steadily start to creep over her cheeks, so she looked down to try and hide it.

"Why so tense Molly? You're not still worried about being here are you?" Gilderoy drawled softly, reaching out to touch her shoulder with the hand he'd been leaning on.

"Of course not! Why should I be?" Molly answered trying to sound convincing, but his touch had made her blush even more. The way she felt about him made it very difficult to be in such close proximity without a little awkwardness.

He gave her an amused and unconvinced look.

"Oh Molly...just relax! We're just two friends enjoying a pleasant evening together, that's all. What could be wrong with that? He said smiling, his hand squeezing her shoulder gently, as if to comfort her.

"Nothing.. I suppose..." Molly answered falteringly, still looking down into her glass. I'm just not used to doing this sort of thing that's all. You see I've never really had the time before, what with looking after my family and everything" she added, shrugging and looking up briefly to smile at him.

"Well you _should_ get used to doing this sort of thing! It's about time you started thinking about 'you' a little bit more Molly, as you have always put others and your family first, and they don't even appreciate it! You put yourself down far too much sometimes as well and you shouldn't! You're an incredibly talented woman Molly, not to mention clever, witty, creative and the owner of two of the most gorgeous brown eyes I've ever seen!" He said, making her smile with appreciation and blush even more, though shrug doubtfully. "I discovered a long time ago, that if you don't believe in your self, no one else will! All you have to do is think about what you want, then make it happen" Gilderoy added, with unusual insight. Then he reached for the bottle again to refill both their glasses.

Molly held out her glass smiling and he filled it up. She hadn't really kept an accurate count of how many she'd had and was beginning to worry about having too much. She was just thinking that this would definitely be her last glass when Gilderoy suddenly got up and walked round to the back of the sofa. Molly turned round curiously

"What are you doing Gildy?" she asked, slurring her words slightly. Her head span on this sudden movement, taking her by surprise and making her instinctively put her hand up to steady it.

"Just sit back and relax Molly, I'm going to help you get rid of all that tension" he said, gently pulling her back and unclipping the robe that fastened around her neck.

"What are you doing?" she asked, turning round again and wincing at the dizziness this caused her.

He smiled with his head on one slightly on one side. "I'm going to give you a massage of course! Now, just sit back and enjoy!"

Molly just didn't seem to have the energy to argue, so she ignored the tightening in her belly that told her this might not be a very good idea. Anyway a massage sounded nice so she smiled andtold him "Okay." Then she rather nervously leant back again trying to calm the butterflies in her tummy, which only got worse when he slid the straps of her dress down her arms a little way.

"I've been complimented on my technique you know.." he announced, beginning to rub her gently, "and I've never had any training of any kind either, I suppose it must just come naturally to me!" he added rather boastfully

After her initial reluctance, Molly gradually began to relax andget into it. She was really enjoying the wayGilderoys surprisingly deft fingers worked away on her knotted muscles and after a while she began to moan appreciatively at the wonderful sensations, she was beggining to feel. She hadn't had a massage in years, even though she had often longed for one, but there just never seemed to beenough time. She reflected on this with sadnesss, as she remembered thatArthur used to be so good with his hands too.

She closed her eyeswith sheer bliss;it waslike she was being pampered - which made a nice change.

"Molly, why don't you let me do the rest of your back?" Gildy asked after a indeterminable length of time, at least to Molly.

"I..I don't know Gildy.." Molly said uncertainly, suddenly noticing how muzzy her head felt and frowning in confusion. She felt like she was floating around underwater and couldn't seem to think clearly. One thing she did know, though, even through the fog in her brain, was that she had definitely had too much to drink andfelt an immediate need to lie down in the hope that it would calmthe spinning.

"Gildy...my head, it feels so strange.."she managed, as she fell face forward on the sofa

"That's right.. .now, let's just get this out of the way shall we?.." Gilderoy said softly. Molly felt him slowly pulling down the zip at the back of her dress and knew she should probably stop him, but she just couldn't bring her self to. It was like she was in a dream, a very nice dream, one in which all your worries and fears just didn't matter anymore.

Then she felt another sensation begin to erupt in her lower belly and she moaned as his hands began to glide up and down her back smoothly. As she sank further into the soft velvety surface of the sofa, the sensation got stronger and stronger. She couldn't work out what it was at first, although she recognised it. Gildy meanwhile although still carrying on with the massage, was fidgeting awkwardly on the edge of the seat cushion. Then suddenly he stopped with an almost theatrical sigh.

"Oh, it's no good Molly, I just can't do it like this, it's just too uncomfortable. Why don't we go to my bedroom, where there's more room?" he suggested

This normally would have set off warning bells in Molly's mind, but in her present befuddled state, it didn't and right now a bed sounded like a very good idea. She agreed and with his help, sat up, giggling at the way her head span like a top when she did. Still giggling she held on to his neck as he helped her to her feet. Standing made her head spin even more and she lurched unsteadily forward, but Gilderoy just about managed to keep her upright. For some reason she seemed to find the fact that the room was spinning extremely funny and couldn't stop giggling.

Then she began to realise what the growing sensation was in her belly. Could it be that she was actually feeling ..turned on? No that just wasn't possible, she knew she fancied Gilderoy, but to feel like this? No, you had to be in love with someone first, didn't you? Was she?..Was she in love with him? But she just couldn't think straight enough to work out what she really felt, so she gave up. She decided to worry about whether this was wrong or right later when her head had cleared a bit.

Gilderoy helped Molly stagger her way across to the bedroom and allowed her to flop onto the bed, which caused her to giggle helplessly again. Shestretched out gratefully, feeling quite dwarfedon thehuge four poster. Then she felt Gildy get on the bed next to her and hardly even noticed or caredwhen hebegan to slip off her dress completely.


	5. highs and lows!

"Mmm.. hold on a minute, I'm just going to get something that will make this feel even better.." Gilderoy said, getting off the bed for a second. When he came back the sweet aroma of rose oil suddenly pervaded Molly's nostrils. As she loved this particular scent, she breathed it in deeply, letting out the breath with a gentle moan. Gilderoy smoothed on a liberal amount of the oil into her skin and resumed the massage.

Molly's mind was so disoriented that nothing could really bother her anymore, so she didn't even flinch when Gilderoy undid her bra; slowly sliding it over her shoulder's, then down her arms until it was completely off. The thinking part of her brain seemed to have shut down almost completely, so that now she only had her senses to rely on - and they told her that what he was doing felt wonderful. All she knew, was that a man she found incredibly attractive, was stroking and caressing her naked skin in a way that relaxed and aroused her. It just didn't seem wrong at all, at the moment, even though she was vaguely aware that she was married to someone else.

After a while Gilderoy stopped the massage and leant over, withhis mouth right next to her ear.

"Oh Molly.." he whispered breathily "I just can't hold back any longer, you're so beautiful..I want you..now.."

He gently brushedher longhairaway from her shoulders and neck and began to kiss them gently,making her moan contentedly. But as his body began to press down onto hers more firmly, she noticed that it felt strange. When it dawned on her that it was because he was naked, the realisation amused her and she began to giggle. If she had been of right mind she would never have let things get this far, but instead, in her confusion she just found it incredibly funny.

"Gildy.. why haven't you got any clothes on?" she managed to ask, trying to stifle her giggling and turning over to look at him. As she did this she looked down briefly and realised that she too was nearly naked, apart from her panties.

"Whoops! Look at that..neither have I! How did that happen?" she exclaimed, with her hand to her mouth in amused surprise. Then she lay flat on her back, giggling helplessly at the situation andnot feeling in the slightest bitworried about it. Seeing her near fully naked for the first time Gilderoy was suddenly filled with an urgent lust and launched him self on top of her. He held her head and pressed his lips down upon hers, in a passionate kiss. Molly hadn't kissed like this for quite some time and was a little out of practice, but soon got into it. After about a minute, she felt that she needed some air and pulled away a little in order to take a breath. Gildy got the message and moved down to kiss her neck, moaning contentedly in-between each one. Molly allowed him to carry on with blissful indifference, as she felt like she was just having a wonderful dream. He stopped suddenly and moved up again to look directly into her eyes. It was hard for her to look back at him properly, as she could hardly focus, so he held her head firmly in place.

"Oh Molly, you know this was meant to be, don't you? It's our destiny. You've changed so much, since we first met - changed for the better.. and I know that I was the main reason for that. Losing that extra weight and taking more care over your appearance – that was all for me too wasn't it? Yes, I know it was; to impress me and get my attention. You fancied me,so you did everything you could to get me to notice you too, didn't you? Well, it worked, because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for weeks. I had to have you Molly, no matter what it took and I knew you wanted me too – as you were giving me all the right signals, but I knew that damn conscience of yours was probably going to get in the way. So, I thought I'd just give you a little helping handand shut it down for a while, so you could see what you've been missing. Trouble was," he smirked "it worked a little too well didn't it darling?.. You're just not used to drinking are you, you poor thing? Oh well..who am I to complain?.." he finished, grinning wider andresumed kissing her neck.

He thenbegan working his way down to her breasts and was by now fully on top of her.

"Oh, Gildy! I don't really know what you're talking about, but.. I do know that this feels.. really..ohh.. nice...mmm... I'm just not really sure..Oh!..that I should be doing this..but.. but I just..mmm.. I just can't remember ..why!" Molly revealed hesitantly, in between moans and gasps, giggling a little at the end.

Even as unsure as she was of going this far, when she felt Gilderoy close his hands around each of her breasts, squeeze gently and begin to kiss them lasciviously all over, she moaned loudly, arching her back. He used his tongue with great skill on her nipples, arousing her still further.

Gilderoy was really pleased with him self, he'd got Molly just where he wanted her and it had been a lot easier than he'd thought it would be. The illegal aphrodisiac wine he'd given her had done its job really well and taken away any resistance she might previously have had. He had obtained this particular beverage, from a dodgy potions shop in Knockturn alley. The gnarly looking witch behind the counter, had told him it would be most effective if the drinker was sexually attracted to him. Gildy had felt so sure that this was the case with Molly that he had bought some eagerly and then got busy planning on how he could get a chance to use it.

Gildy had been with a lot of women in his time and not all that many of them were attractive, but that wasn't why he seduced them. He did it for the power rush he got from it and any other advantages; like money or influence for instance. Molly was all those things to him and more; yes, she was special. He didn't know if he loved her, but he certainly felt more for her thanof theother women he'd known previously. Even though she was no spring chicken and had, had seven children, she was remarkably well preserved and now that she had lost some weight, she looked even better. He was so conceited, that he felt sure that once he had made love to her, she would immediately decide to leave her husband and want to be with him. He honestly didn't see that what he was doing was wrong, in fact he thought he was helping her - by stopping her feeling all her usual insecurities and guilt and giving her what he thought she really wanted deep down, but was to afraid to ask for. He was planning to really blow her mind and give her the best sex she'd ever had, a real night to remember - and according to the wording on the bottle, she would remember it well, even though she was a little 'out of it' at the moment!

At last he could wait no longer, soremoved her panties, climbed on top of her again and was just about to reach down to insert himself, when a sudden loud noise made his head shoot up. His mind, (which was only slightly fuzzy, as he hadn't had anywhere near the amountof thedrink as Molly had) suddenly kicked into gear and told him that the noise was someone banging on the door.

His stomach felt like it had just dropped through the floor with the shock, then it rushed up again quickly, making him feel a little giddy.

"Who the hell is that, at this time of night?" He said angrily, more to himself than Molly

"Gildy.. what's that noise?..It's so loud.." Molly asked drowsily

But Gilderoy didn't answer; he got off the bed, put on his dressing gown and cautiously and quietly walked towards his front door. He stood there listening and when there was silence for a moment, he consoled himself that it could just have been one of his rather eccentric neighbours as some of them had a habit of calling at odd times. Never usually this late, though, as it was nearly eleven o'clock. He was just about to turn back towards the bedroom when a booming voice rang out.

"Gilderoy Lockhart! We know you are in there! Open this door now! And don't even think about climbing out of the window - as we've got someone out there who's a damn sight quicker than you'll be!"

"Who..(he swallowed) who is it?" he asked nervously

"It's the Ministry.. you've been rumbled Lockhart!" came the stern reply, "now open the door, before we blow open!"

Then the pounding continued and Gilderoy began to sweat with panic, his head whipped round as he looked desperately for of a way out of this terrible situation, but there was none to be had. He knew he had no choice but to let them in, before they forced their way.

He gathered up all his courage (which wasn't that much) and attempted to compose himself, before going to the open the door with a ready fixed smile already in place.

The smile soon faded though, when he saw who was standing there in front of him.

"Oh shit!' he swore in despair, through gritted teeth


	6. Unwelcome visitors

There before him, stood none other than Arthur Weasley and Professor Severus Snape. Gilderoy remembered only too well his run in with the dark potions master at Hogwarts. Even though his memory was still a little hazy in some areas, he could never forget this sinister and enigmatic man, whose present close proximity sent a shock-wave of fear, coursing through his body. And as for Arthur Weasley being there too, was it just coincidence, or did someone up there really hate him?

As soon as the door was fully opened Arthur barged in angrily, with Snape gliding along expressionlessly behind him.

Gilderoys stomach had sunk to the floor. There couldn't have been two people that he would rather have seen less at this particular moment (well, maybe a couple of deatheaters could have been worse, but not much!) and he swore inwardly at his unbelievable bad luck.

"Gilderoy Lockhart!" Arthur said in a disgusted tone, looking like he was barely keeping a reign on his temper. "I knew you were a scoundrel from the start, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt, because Molly believed in you. I thought that if Molly saw good in you then maybe you weren't that bad after all. Hmmph!.. And she's _normally_ such a good judge of character too, she got it dead wrong this time though didn't she? You're nothing but a lying, cheating scumbag!"

Gilderoy was struck dumb for a moment, then recovered himself, smiling amiably again. He quite successfully managed to feign an innocent expression, but now and again his eyes still darted nervously towards the bedroom door.

"You must be the famous Arthur that I've heard so much about!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, "Molly talks about you all the time an I.." Gilderoy began, but was cut off by Arthur speaking again.

"Save it Lockhart! You're not going to talk your way out of this one! Severus here knows exactly what you've been up to, he's been watching you!"

Gilderoy's glance at the potions master, in confusion and anxiety, was returned with a rather evil smirk of triumph.

"I _really_ have no idea what you are talking about Arthur! I assure you, I'm at a total loss!" hecontinued smiling innocently, holding up his hands and shrugging (he was nothing if, not a good actor).

"You know **very** well!" Arthur retorted incredulously, "Severus saw you in knockturn alley at old Petulant Pete's place weeks ago and he wanted to know what you were up to, so he's been following you. Old Petulant is well known to us at the Ministry for selling dodgy stuff _and _he's suspected of getting involved in misuse of muggle artifacts too, but we've never managed to pin anything definite on him before. Severus has seen you buying large quantities of potion supplies from him and he's also seen you receiving stuff here at night and guessed that you've been storing something for him. Stupid idiot! Don't you know that's what he does to saps like you? Gets them to store his dodgy gear and then if he gets found selling the stuff, he pleads innocent and says he got it from you! He's well known for it!"

Gidleroy gulped with shock as the realisation sunk in that he'd been duped. He thought he'd been really clever storing Petulant Pete's stock as Pete had told him that it would be doing him a really great favour and in return, he could have some of his potion supplies for free. In retrospect it had been a pretty stupid thing to do, but at the time his greed had got the better of him. If only he'd sat down and really thought about the consequences, but Gilderoy wasn't big on thinking ahead.

"Well..it's pretty obvious that you've been buying those second rate potions to use in the business, haven't you?. No doubt mixing them with the real thing to fool Molly. I don't know how you've got away with it for so long, but it's probably only because Molly is so good with magic that makes up for the fact the potions are not up to scratch!" Arthur stated, bluntly.

Then suddenly he noticed his surroundings and looked around with a disgusted expression.

"Hmmph! You never did have any taste, did you Gilderoy?" and indicated with his head at the décor. Snape's smirk had now turned into a sneer of concurrence at Arthur's opinion, as he himself looked around.

Gilderoy chose to ignore this comment and instead continued with his denials. (Gilderoys policy, even when caught red handed, was always to 'deny everything!')

"I tell you Arthur, I'm completely innocent!..I admit I bought those potions from Pete, but it was in good faith, I honestly believed them genuine!" he protested imploringly. Then suddenly looking downcast, he exclaimed a regretful "Huh!.." then looked up again, before continuing "Unfortunately, one of my worst faults is that I'm too trusting and friendly – I'm afraid it's got me into quite a bit of trouble in the past! I assure you... I wasn't aware of any wrong-doing. I really had no idea that was the sort of business that charming old man was into, because if I had, I would certainly never have consorted to do business with him! And as for storing contraband _here_!..I can assure you, I have not been doing any such thing!" he finished, sounding mortally wounded.

"Then you won't mind if we search your flat then?" Arthur asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. He left Gilderoy no time to answer, though, as he had already gone off to make a start.

Gilderoy's initial alarm had now turned into an intense fear of being found out, as he was hoping to have got rid of them by now. But he wasn't worried about them finding any of Pete's stock in the flat,no, he wasn't _that_ stupid. He'd hidden all of that stuff, somewhere safe elsewhere in the building. All his thoughts now, were of Molly – lying on the bed, no doubt waiting for him to come back. He began thinking desperately of ways he could hide her presence from her husband - who on finding his wife half naked in his wife's business partner'sbed would no doubt want inflict extreme pain on the said owner. Gilderoy was rather abhorrent to pain, so there was an extreme urgency involved. He quickly surmised that Arthur must have come straight from work and didn't know that Molly was out of the house or he would have probably asked after her by now. This was to Gilderoys advantage, as he wouldn't have to explain her whereabouts. If he got away with this - and he had everything riding on, that hemust -he'd just say he'd found her at some client's house. He'd say she had passed out from inhaling too many potion fumes or something and the client had contacted him to come and pick her up. Yes, that sounded like a plausible excuse, but his first problem was how to conceal her presence from his two unwelcome visitors.

"Erm, don't you have to be a registered Auror and have an Authorisation certificate to do a search?" Gilderoy protested hopefully, suddenly remembering.

"Didn't Molly tell you that I was an Auror now?" Arthur asked, genuinely surprised. Then with a flick of his wand, produced ascroll of paper and sent it flying over to Gilderoy's rather unwilling hands. Gilderoy groaned inwardly as he glanced at the official looking document in the Ministry's curly text and saw that it was indeed genuine (he'd seen a few in his time). His only hope now was that he could get to the bedroom before Severus and Arthur did.

Severus had joined in the search and he and Arthur used their wands with great skill (to the considerable envy of Gilderoy) to lift things up, open doors and take out the contents of drawers and cupboards (then put them back, just as easily). They left nowhere unchecked in the living room at least and Gilderoy could only look on in dismay when Severus walked decidedly over to the near empty bottle and glasses still left standing on the coffee table. He sniffed, then cautiously tasted the contents after wiping his finger round the rim. Looking up, he narrowed his eyes at Gilderoy, who attempted an innocuous smile in return.

"This is aphrodisiac wine!" he informed Arthur, matter-of-factly,now looking in his direction."It is highly effective, I believe, at making the drinker more receptive to sexual advances!" then turning back to Gilderoy,"I thought you were such a Ladykiller Lockhart and had no need for such things!" he said, in avoice dripping with sarcasm, finishing with an evilsmirk.

"Aphrodisiac wine! **Really**? I had no idea! No wonder the lady I was with tonight was so...how can I put it? 'Up for it'! I thought it was just my charm and good looks that turned her on!" he answered, with a nervous laugh

Severus raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, in a disbelieving expression.

"Is the lady in question still here?" Severus demanded, his eyes narrowing again

"Erm.." Gilderoy had to think hard about this one, but he eventually decided to say yes, as it would be the only excuse for him to go into the bedroom first. On the premise of warning his said 'lady' to get up and get dressed.

"Yes..she's asleep in the bedroom" Gilderoy admitted nervously. Arthur had now gone into the kitchen and being alone with Severus, even for a moment, gave him the gitters.

"Good!" said Severus, looking back at him, a smile of great satisfaction on his face.

Gilderoy was pondering on this strange conversation, when Arthur suddenly appeared out of the kitchen. He didn't look too happy.

"That cooker looks a bit dodgy" he said indicating back with his head, "but I'm not worried about that sort of thing now, I'll let the boys from MoMA dept. sort it out.." hecontinued distractedly, as he looked around, thenhis eyes alighted on the only other door in the room apart from the entrance – the bedroom door! (The bathroom was en-suite). Arthur began to head over to it, followed by a stillsmirking Snape.

The moment Gilderoy had been dreading had arrived; they were going to search the bedroom! His heart began to pound and he felt sweat trickling down one side of his face - which he quickly wiped away on his sleeve. He had to think fast, which was even harder than normal because of the effects of the wine thatwas still in his system. He ran to the door -just about managing to get there first - and stood in front of it protectively.

"You can't go in there!"

"Why not?" Arthur said irritably, grabbing Gilderoy's shoulder,ready to push him out of the way.

"Because..because.. the lady I am with is not decent. She's well..she's, she's..tied to the bed! You know how it is sometimes!..when you just want to try something a bit different?" Gilderoy stuttered, sniggering awkwardly. His face soon fell when he saw that his joke was not shared.

"Go and untie her then! And be quick!" Arthur ordered gruffly

"Erm.. well, it may take some time..I ..I"

"NOW!" was the barked answer

Gilderoy obeyed meekly and opened the door, but only enough to squeeze himself through, then as he entered the room,closed it carefully behind him. His heart was now pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest and his head was starting to spin with panic. What had started out as such a lovely promising evening had now turned into the worst night of his life.

"If they find her here.." well, he didn't want to think what would happen to him. He sighed, put his hand to his forehead and began to think desperately of what he could do.


	7. the hits the fan!

His only option now, was for him to try and hide Molly somehow. His first thought was the balcony, (which to muggle eyes just looked like scaffolding from the outside) but realised that probably wouldn't be a good idea, as he had been told there was someone watching the windows.

Then another idea occurred to him

"_Maybe she would fit in one of the wardrobes!"_

It wouldn't be easy as they were already stuffed full of clothes, but it seemed his only option.

He walked over to the bed and as he looked down at Molly, it struck him how lovely she looked. She was almost asleep, head slightly on one side, smiling gently, her hands slowly stroking up and down her body. He was momentarily distracted from the task in hand, but quickly snapped out of this reverie, when he heard Arthur's impatient voice coming from the other side of the door.

"Get a move on will you! I haven't got all night! I'm already late home and Molly's going to be mad enough as it is without me turning up at gone midnight!"

The mention of Molly's name made Gilderoys stomach, tighten even more and panic started to set in. He hurriedly picked up her inebriate form and carried her rather awkwardly in his arms to the least fullest wardrobe, but on getting there, it dawned on him that it was probably the first place they were going to look.

"Damn! You stupid idiot!" he cursed himself quietly "of course!"

He began looking desperately around for somewhere a little less obvious, when his eyes alighted on the canopy over the four-poster bed. It was made from thick red velvet and looked like it could possibly be strong enough to hold Molly's weight.

He climbed on to the bed, still holding Molly and using every bit of strength he had left, managed to lift her, huffing and puffing, on to the top of the dusty canopy. Molly seemed to think that this was some sort of game and began to giggle drowsily. Gilderoy frantically begged her to be quiet and in the end gave in and told her that it _was_ a game they were playing and part of it was that, she had to stay where she was, lie absolutely still and not make a sound until he told her otherwise. He explained that someone was going to come into the room in a few moments and that she had to pretend she wasn't there. He finishedwith a finger to his lips, smiling reassuringly. She mimicked him clumsily, then clamped a hand on top of her mouth to stop herself laughing again. When she at last lay back quietly, Gilderoy breathed a sigh of relief and hoped against hope that she wouldn't be discovered. He stepped down off the bed and on doing so, quickly spotted her clothes strewn all over the floor, he gathered them up and slung them on top of the canopy too, making Molly whoop with surprise.

"LOCKHART! I'm not waiting any longer, I'm coming in no matter what!" Arthur suddenly yelled angrily through the door, making Gilderoy almost jump out of his skin.

Gilderoyran to the door, but before he could open it, it came crashing off its hinges and fell to the floor with a thud in front of him, making him have to jump quickly out of the way.

Arthur then stalked in to the room, with a face like thunder, closely by followed by Professor Snape who was looking around with great interest.

"Where is she then? This fool of a woman who decided to waste an evening on you?" Arthur snapped

"Erm.. she left.." came Gilderoy's rather hurried reply

"How? You can't apparate inside this building! There's no fireplace in here and the window is still bolted shut!" snapped Arthur incredulously, indicating towards the window with his head. "Plus, if anyone had left it would have been reported to me immediately by the man we have posted outside!" he finished, indicating the window again, then stood there with his eyebrows raised, waiting for a reply.

"Erm, she's got an invisiblity cloak and she ..she flew away on her broom.. then she locked the windowwhen she left.." Gilderoy stuttered, trying desperately to sound casual and nonchalant - and a lot more confident than he felt. His stomach was knotting up more and more every minute and he'd now started to feel quite light-headed; he desperately wanted this to be over with – the tension was killing him.

Arthur still looked unconvinced, even though this excuse sounded fairly plausible. He narrowed his eyes at Gilderoy

"You're hiding something Lockhart, I know you are!And believe me, whatever it is I'll find it, have no doubts about that!" Arthur stated contemptuously, pointing his wand threateningly,before resuming his search.

Gilderoy tried to look unworried and wastrying to hidehis panic, by taking deep breaths and rythmically rocking back and forth on his heels. As he was standing there he happeneda glance at Snape who was still standing in the doorway. Snape was looking in the direction of the bed, smirking knowingly and when he caught Gilderoys eye, the smirk turned into a grin and hebegan slowlylifting his wand. Gilderoy's breath caught in his throat, as he saw Snape point his wand at the bed and begin chanting a spell under his breath.

_What the hell is he doing?_ Thought Gilderoy in dismay, _He knows doesn't he? He bloody well knows! Shit! What the hell is he going to do? _He began to look quickly from Arthur to the bed, but at that precise moment Arthur had his back turned, too busy searching the wardrobes to notice anything.

Ever since Arthur and Snape had been in the room, the top of the bed had been creaking and groaning with the strain of the extra weight andGilderoy could only look on helplessly, when he guessed just what the dark potions master was going to do - he was going to weave a spell to help the speed up the inevitable.

When he'd finished chanting his spell, Snape waved his wand, almost lazily, at each corner of the bed frame. Gilderoy watched in fascinated horror, as the fabric tied to each post began to unravel, leaving only shreds and after only a few moments, there was a sickening tearing noise, which signalled the weakened fabric was about to give way. The canopy gave one last rip, before letting its squealing occupant drop onto the bed, amidst a cloud of dust. Molly sat up coughing and wafting at her face for a while, then began to laugh uncontrollably at her predicament, which to her at least seemed hilarious.

On hearing the noise, Arthur at last turned away from his intense search of the wardrobes, tolook in the direction of the bed.

Gilderoy looked on at the scene, his face frozen in an expression of absolute dread for what was bound to come. He watched as Arthur walked over to the bed, who's face for the moment, was only a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Gilderoy had begun thinking that now, was a good time to try and make a run for it and forced his rather unwilling legs to start moving. But just as he got to the doorway, an impenetrable wall of black, in the shape of Professor Snape, prevented him from going any further and he backed away, defeated.

When the dust eventually settled and Arthur could see clearly whom it was sitting on the bed -at first, his expression changed from curiosity, to one of complete and utter disbelief. He was unable to speak momentarily and could only mouth Molly's name silently, under his breath. Then his expression changed yet again, when the reasons for Molly's present state suddenly became clear to him.

His hands balling up into fists, Arthur stalked towards the now cowering Gilderoy, who grinned apologetically, hoping desperately for leniency.

"You! You...BASTARD!" Arthur screamed, launching himself upon his unfortunate victim with well-aimed punch, knocking Gilderoy to the ground.

"I..I..I..can explain! It was all her idea! I swear!" Gilderoy stuttered "she came over to me tonight and told me you weren't going to be in and thatshe wanted to have a bit of fun. _She_ bought that funny wine with her, she must have thought it was going to make me more susceptible to her charms and I hate to admit it, but it worked!" Gilderoy lied, sounding quite convincing, but Arthur didn't fall for it

"LIAR!" he snarled, "Molly isn't like that! She would never do that to me!"

"Well..she did! Maybe you don't know her as well as you think!" Gilderoyboldly retorted back, but still holding his hands protectively in front of his face

"I've known her half my life, you slimy piece of flobberworm crap! I know her better than I know my self!" came Arthurs incredulous reply

"Then how come you didn't know how unhappy she was!" Gilderoy sneered, making Arthur back off a little, confused.

Heartened by this small victory, Gilderoy continued. "yes and it was me who she came to for comfort! You were far too busy with your new job to notice weren't you? I mean with you ignoring her, it was only natural that she would fall for my charms.." Gilderoy continued rather arrogantly (and stupidly) "after all, most women do!"

Arhtur was just about to launch into another attack when Snape intervened.

"Far be it from me to interfere in your marital affairs Arthur, but I do believe he is lying - about tonight at least" he stated casually, stepping forward, " I followed him earlier ( indicating Gilderoy) and according to the doorman downstairs, the lady who arrived with him, looked very nervous and unsure of herself. Which certainly does not sound like a woman set upon seduction, whereas he said Lockhart looked _very_ pleased with himself"

Arthur turned back to Gilderoy, after listening intently to Snape and waited forhis now decidedly dejected looking opponent to speak.

"You were following me tonight? I thought you were only following me when I was buying potions!" Gilderoy bemoaned sulkily. Then he looked down, shaking his head and sighing heavily

"Oh this one was just for fun – following people is a little hobby of mine, I like catching people out doing things they shouldn't be. I only do it of course because of the great satisfaction it gives me, to do such good work.." Snape replied, snidely, a slight smile catching at the corners of his mouth.

Arthurhad beenshaking his head at Snape, then spoke with rebuke

"No wonder you were so keen to join me, searching this flat, after you told me about him" he snapped, indicating Lockhart with his head, "it was because you knew that he was here with Molly and you couldn't bear to miss out on the fireworks could you? You were probably really looking forward to it, weren't you? You're sick Severus Snape, really sick! And I thought you came to me with your information first, because you just wanted me to know the truth about the man my wife is in business with, but you justwanted to gloat at someone else'smisfortune didn't you?"

Snape shrugged, appearing unmoved by this tirade. Then he raised his eyebrows questioningly, "would you rather it had been you, or someone else that discovered her like that?" he asked,looking over to a still giggling and very naked Molly

While Arthur and Snape were talking, Gilderoy got to his feet, thinking he might have got off lightly - but he was soon to be disappointed - thanks to him opening his big mouth..

"Arthur, look ..I'm sorry about all this" he began, in a friendly tone, with a now, genuine regret, "I mean, I suppose I must take some of the blame.. I mean.. I suppose I was flattered by her attention. Ha! So you can't blame me for..." but Gilderoy didn't get a chance to finish what he was about to say, because a well-aimed blow to the nose, from Arthur, prevented him from doing so. The force behind it was such that it knocked the unfortunate man to the floor and he slipped dazedly into unconsciousness.

After hitting Gilderoy, Arthur immediately turned his attention back to Molly, who had by now got to her feet and was enjoying her self immensely, jumping up and down on the bed, laughing with rapturous delight.

"Molly! Molly! Stop!" Arthur shouted desperately, rushing over. He whipped off his cloak, leaping on her with it, to cover her up as quickly as possible.

Once she was covered, he turned around and gave Snape a reproachful look

"You could have averted your eyes, you pervert! Have you no shred of decency in you!"

Snape merely raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips slightly before answering

"I assure you Arthur, that I haven't the slightest interest in your wife in that direction" he announced haughtily, but nevertheless, looked away in the other direction

"It didn't stop you looking though did it?" Arthur retorted back angrily, "now, could you leave us alone, I want to talk to my wife in private and you can take that with you as well if you wouldn't mind" he finished, indicating the unconscious man on the floor.

Snape dutifully levitated the sleeping Gilderoy and guided him rather haphazardly through the doorway, unconcernedly banging his head on the frame on the way.

Once Snape was out of the room and the door closed, Arthur turned back tothe now dazed and confused looking Molly. He reached into his pocket, brought out a small box and opened it. Inside were several vials of different coloured liquids, he slid one out and undid the stopper.

"Here take this.." Arthur said quietly, putting the vial to her lips, "it's only expergo, It'll help to wake you up"

Molly offered little resistance and drank some of the liquid down. After a few moments she looked as if she coming to and began moaning gently, holding her head as if in pain

"Molly? Molly? Are you alright?" Arthur urged, putting his own hand on top of hers.

"Arthur?" she replied, at last, looking up and squinting "What happened? Did I fall asleep? Oh! I've had such a vivid dream, I daren't tell you what it was about though.." she smiled, blushing.

"It wasn't a dream Molly.." Arthur said, looking down sadly


	8. It all ends in tears

_I apologise in advance for this chapter if some of the words are joined together, it's not my fault honest! Anyway hope you enjoy it as it has taken ans awful lot of work to get right!_

What do you mean, it wasn't a dream?" Molly asked, confused, looking at Arthur as if he'd gone mad.

It was in that moment that she happened to notice her surroundings. Her eyes widened with shock as the realisation dawned on her, that she was not at home in her own bed.

"Where.. am I?" Molly questioned haltingly, just before vague flashbacks of the night's previous events began to invade her thoughts.

"You're in Gilderoy's bedroom" Arthur said bluntly, before sitting down next to her

Still not really understanding, she bowed her head, her forehead creasing in concentration. As she sat there thinking a sudden cold draft blew across them from somewhere, making hershiver. She looked down at her self curiously - as she had felt the draft more keenly than she would have expected andlet out a gasp of disbelief,when she saw that it was because she was naked under the robe.

"Oh Arthur! What have I been doing? Why haven't I got anything on?" Molly asked in a panicky voice, wrapping the robe more tightly around her. But even on saying this, she'd got a horrible feeling that she already knew the answer.

Arthur, looked at her, smiled wanly, then looked down again, before explaining

"I think...I think you've had sex with Gilderoy..but.. I don't know for sure.. I don't how far things actually went, before I got here." He said, sounding a little choked, then added stiffly, "I do know that he gave you some aphrodisiac wine, though...did you?"

While speaking he had begun to play distractedly with the furry bedspread, trapping the hairs between his fingers, then letting them go again - as if trying to find a vent for his anger.

Molly looked down her self again, sighed, then began to try and piece together more accurately what had happened that night. They sat in silence for a few minutes, while Molly's mind worked away, but when her memory did eventually start coming back, she began to wish it hadn't.

"I'm sure we didn't actually have sex...I mean.. I'd know if I'd done something like that, I'm sure" she ventured hopefully, looking up,"But I _can_ say with _absolute_ honesty, that I didn't know the wine he had given me was an aphrodisiac. I didn't come here to have sex with him Arthur, I just wanted to..well..to be pampered for a while I suppose.."

She paused, then with a more determined expression, said "Gilderoy offered to make me a meal and I accepted, I thought it would be a nice change not having to cook. I mean, _we _haven't been out for ages and ...well, I..I just wanted to remember what it was like spending an evening with someone, you know..having a nice meal, a drink and a chat." Then looking like she was trying to hold back tears she continued, "I hadn't meant for this to happen, though, Arthur.. I... I'm so sorry... I really am! I.. Oh!" Then not being able to hold back any longer, she began to sob unreservedly, resting her head on one hand, in order tohide her face.

Arthur gently took her other hand in his and proclaimed quietly -

"It's alright Molly, it wasn't your fault...it was mine..."

He was silent for a few seconds, then snorted ruefully, before hanging his head down low. He let go of Molly's hand in order that he could clasp both of his together loosely in front of him

"If I hadn't been so obsessive and so eager to please those pompous git's at the Ministry...if I'd spent a bit more time at home... and on you..." He lamented, shaking his head,

"I just wanted to prove my worth, that was all, I wanted to show I could be as good as all those new young recruits! I suppose.. I've..I've just been trying to make up for lost time; all those years I've wasted languishing in that Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office...when I could have been doing something more worthwhile"

Molly, incensed by these self-depreciating words, stopped crying and looked up at him, her now red rimmed eyes wide withdisbelief.

"NO! You know that isn't true! It may not have been the best job in the world, but you always came home at a decent time and we never went without anything..well nothing important anyway. I know we struggled at times, but I'm sure it brought us closer together as a family, we were really happy bunch most of the time!" then she smiled at a recollection of the past, "You always had such a sense of fun, you used to get up to as much mischief as the boys did and sometimes you were the perpetrator of it! Ohh..but that's all changed now, now you don't have time for fun, in fact.. I haven't seen you laugh in ages."She lamented, then added

"When you told me you wanted to become an auror, I supported you with all my heart, you know I did. I mean - of course, I'd got no idea then, that you were going to spend nearly all the hours in the day and night doing it, so..." she broke off momentarily, looking down again, as fresh tears were springing into her eyes, but after taking a deep breath she resumed her disclosure

"..recently I'd..I'd begun to believe that you didn't love me any more and.. and that you'd lost interest in me. I was so lonely.. I just wanted it to be like it used to be. Then there's that girl..." she said accusingly, wiping away her tears with her fingers

"What girl?" Arthur questioned, sounding completely non-plussed

"You know, that pretty little auror who was making eyes at you at the last 'Order' party. I know you work with her, I was told!" she snapped, her head shooting up, a little disgruntled at his seeming denial

"Oh! Do you mean Perfidia Catchworth?" He asked, making an incredulous little chuckle inhis throat. "We're just friends! Yes, I admit she does get a little flirtatious with me at times, but she's like that with everyone, it's her way - she's just a very friendly girl!Why the hell do you think she would be interested in me anyway? I mean, I'm more than twice her age and I'm nothing much to look at!"

Molly looked down again, before giving her answer, rather sullenly

"You're still a handsome man for your age and charming... and funny and you can be very sweet when you want to be...and you're one of the bravest men I know! Why wouldn't any woman want you in their life?"

"Do you really think so?" he replied with a slight smile, rather aghast

"Of course! But then again why wouldn't you want her either, I mean she's a beautiful young woman.." Molly responded, wiping fresh tears from her eyes

Arthur looked at his wife, his expression a little incredulous

"I don't want her -I love you, I don't need anyone else!..And erm, I hate to remind you about this Molly, but it is a bit rich throwing those accusations at me when you're stark naked in another mans bed!"

Molly bent her head forward and put her hands up to hide her face. He was right, but then, who knew what _he'd _really been up to, after all she hardly seen him for months. Then again if she couldn't trust him by now after all these years of marriage, when could she trust him? She usually knew when he was lying anyway, as he wasn't very good at it, so she decided to take his word for it. She knew full well, though,that it was mostly only her own insecurity and and an attempt to try and lessen her own guilt, that made her accuse him in the first place.

Deciding to change the subject slightly, she looked up and asked -

"Where is Gilderoy anyway, did he run away or something? And how did you know I was here?"

"Well, I think I'd better tell you the whole sordid story of what Gilderoy has been up to, I think that might explain things, but I warn you you're not going to like it.."

Arthur related what he'd recently discovered about Molly's business partner and surmised that it probably wasn't even the half of it.

As he went on, Molly began to get more and more incensed

"I can't believe it!" she blurted out, when he'd finished. Tears began streaming down her face again, this time with anger

"He's been conning me from the start hasn't he? He must have thought I was a RIGHT mug - just someone he could use! I don't know what I ever saw in him! OHH! That ablsolute..well I don't want to say it, but put it this way it starts with 'b' and ends with 'd'! Oh damn it! That absolute..bastard!"

She released a sigh, then admitted - "Oh Arthur, I've been such a fool, he took me in completely didn't he? I really wish I'd never replied to that letter now!"

She bowed her head and sobbed yet again, shaking her head regretfully

"Even when there were warning signs and I knew that something wasn't quite right, I tried to ignore them and just kept on making excuses for him, because I liked him so much. I just didn't want to believe he was up to no good, I truly thought he was a reformed character!" she said tearfully, sniffing and wiping her face

Then suddenly she got angry again

"But as for tonight - plying me with a spiked drink to get me to have sex with him! Well! He couldn't have sunk much lower than _that_ could he!"

"You know that wine only works if the recipient is attracted to the giver.." Arthur reminded her quietly, looking down.

"Yes.. well..I admit that I found him attractive and that I ..I did _think_ about having sex with him, but I would never have done it in my right mind Arthur! No way! Iwould never betray you like that, never! If he'd tried it on with me when I was sober, I'd have blasted him to the other side of London!... But I suppose he knew that and needed to weaken me, to get what he wanted.."

She looked down for a second or two, then up again, feeling the need toreiterate her previous denial, as he still seemed a little distant towards her.

"I couldn't have done it willingly Arthur, I love you too much to do that, you do believe me don't you?" she implored earnestly

"Yes.. but.. it still hurts, even though I know he gave you little choice. The very fact that you came up here with him in the first place when you knew what he was like...(shakes head).. then you end up in his bed.." Arthur answered disdainfully, waving his hands around to emphasize the point. Then leaning forward so his elbows were on his knees, he buried his face in his hands.

Molly bit her lip before replying and tried to comfort him, reaching out her hand to gently rest it on his back

"I know... but at least we didn't actually have sex, I ... I think we got disturbed before things got that far.." she admitted, sincerely hoping she was right

"I couldn't believe it when I saw you on this bed -naked! To say the bottom dropped out of my world was an understatement! That coupled with the fact that the worst possible person I can think of, witnessed the whole thing too!" He lamented in exasperation,shaking his head "Ohh..Gilderoy! You dirty littlepieceof troll shit.! If I didn't think I would go to Azkaban - I'd..I'd"but then heseemed to decide not toelaborate on this subject and instead continued to shake his head

The second she heard that someone else had been in the room with her husband, a bolt of fear shot like lightning through Molly. She'd previously thought that Arthur had been alone, as he'd led her to believe he was. She of course wanted to know who it was right away, but almost dreaded the answer

"Who else was with you then?" She enquired anxiously

"Erm. ..umm.. Severus Snape" he muttered awkwardly, knowing full well the effect this name would have on his wife. He had tried to hide this fact from her and cursed himself for letting it slip. He closed his eyes bracing himself for an onslaught.

Molly looked at him horror struck

"Severus Snape!.. Saw.. _me.._ naked!" she shrieked "Oh Merlins _balls_! I'll never live that down.. never! Oh, how can I ever look him in the eye again!"

"Did you ever anyway?" Arthur mused, trying to make light of it

"Well..maybe not! But every time I see him now, he'll make snide remarks, I know he will. He probably couldn't believe his luck, seeing me like that. It'll give him plenty of ammunition against me and our family won't it? Oh! What if he tells the children! Ohh!" she wailed, burying her face in her hands

"He won't if I warn him not to." Arthur revealed, then sniffed smugly"Huh! It's at times like this when being an Auror has it's advantages – because I've found out a few things about _him_ that I know he definitely wouldn't want to become public knowledge. Stuff he wouldn't want banded about the school that's for sure!"

His smirk thendropped and his eyes began to narrow indignantly, before continuing "He wasn't looking at you like that anyway, believe me. I could have nearly punched him too, the pervert! He didn't avert his eyes or even make any pretence of being embarrassed!"

"Do you mean.. you punched Gilderoy?" Molly asked in surprise. She couldn't help but be impressed, even though she deplored violence

"Yes – twice and the second one knocked him out. You know I don't like resorting to violence, but he deserved it - the vile little creep!"

Molly didn't argue with him, but she wanted to know more about Severus Snape's involvement in all this.

"How come Severus came up with you anyway? I mean why him and not an Auror?"

"He was the one that told me about Gilderoy in the first place tonight and he insisted on coming with me. He used the excuse that it was because he was an expert in these matters and if he couldn't find any evidence then nobody could. I couldn't argue with that, so I allowed him to come, I didn't know then, though that he'd set me up; he knew you were here didn't he! Probably couldn't wait to see how I'd react - but I'm glad I came here when I did, as maybe I'd never have known about it until it was too late.." he paused for a minute, then his expression changed from righteous indignation to one of disbelief, directed squarely at Molly.

"You know, I really couldn't believe it when I found you here Molly, I thought you were at home fretting about where I'd got to!" he revealed, with a strange sort of smile, his voice breaking with emotion. Then suddenly tears that he'd probably been holding back for some time, sprung forth in his eyes. He looked away and bending forward, hid his face with his hands.

This set Molly off crying again and after tentatively reaching over to put her arms around her husband, she was recived unquestioningly into his. They stayed like this for some moments, until Arthur eventually pulled away.

"It's time we made a move Molly, we've got to get Gilderoy to the Ministry holding cells."

Molly nodded quietly and after a little searching, eventually found all of her clothes and got dressed.

They opened the door and stepped into the living room, to see Snape standing over the other side of the room - seemingly studying closely, one of the rather ostentatious artworks that covered the walls of the flat. He'd left the unconscious Gilderoy sprawled rather uncomfortably overthe over-sized coffee table. His head was hanging over one edge, his legs dangling over the other and had one arm bent underneath him. Arthur used a waking spell, to rouse him, which had an immediate effect. Gilderoy sat up slowly, rubbing his neck and wincing with pain. No sooner had he done so and uttered Molly's name on seeing her, than the said lady rushed over with a resolute expression, brought her hand up and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"Never.. ever.. and I mean never! ..Come near me..or my family again!" Snapped Molly, her mouth set in a thin determined line, then she shaking her head distainfully, she added "I thought you were my friend!.." Then she walked away towards the door and stood with her back to him. Arthur quickly slipped into the kitchen to make a signal to the men outside watching the windows. On coming out he immediately went over to comfort his wife, ignoring the dumbfounded Gilderoy, who was still sitting on the table, holding his face.

Very soon there was a knock at the door and two Aurors came in to take Gilderoy, who offered very little resistance - in fact he seemed unusually silent.Everyone trooped down to the lobby and out of the doors, with Molly staying as far away from Snape as possible. Once outside and after doing a muggle check, the Aurors left with their prisoner. Molly felt Snape looking in her direction, but refused to give him the satisfaction of any sort of reaction towards him, so she continued ignoring him. She then heard a pop as he apparated, leaving her and Arthur alone

"Do you want to come home now?" Arhur asked gently

Molly replied with an affirmative nod and smiled gratefully.

Arthur stuck out his wand for the night bus

"Just for old times sake eh!" he joked

The night bus soon arrived and holding hands, with eyes only for each other, they got on board.

Molly paused and questioned Arthur with a worried expression -

"We'll get through this won't we?"

"Of course we will" he answered, stroking her cheek lovingly, then joked, "we've been through worse..and survived!

Then on seeing her continued disquiet

"It'll take more than something likethis to get rid of me Molly..I love you more than my own life and if you still feel the same way about me then nothing else matters"

Molly smiled happily, feeling relieved and they found a seat just in time before the bus sped off into the night taking them to the burrow.


	9. Out of the Frying Pan

Gilderoy woke up at dawn the next day, feeling tired and groggy. He opened his eyes and tried to focus in the dim light coming from a small window, knitting his brows in confusion at his unfamiliar surroundings. He sat up on the rather hard and uncomfortable bunk he'd been sleeping on, yawned, rubbed his eyes, then tried to get his bearings. When at last his brain clicked into place and he realised that he was in fact in a prison cell, he was mortified. Clearer memories of the previous night's events began to come flooding back, revealing just how he had got in this terrible predicament.

His belly clenched up with fear and dread, while his heart began thumping wildly in his chest and sweat beads appeared on his forehead. His first thoughts were – "What the hell am I going to do now?" and "How the hell am I going to get out of this?" But the initial panic soon gave way to despondency at the seeming hopelessness of the situation. The truth was, he'd been caught red-handed and there was no getting away from it.

He bent forwards, leaning his elbows on his thighs, then with the ends of his fingers, rubbed his temples in an attempt to soothe the headache that had now taken up residence. It wasn't just his head that ached either; his whole body felt bruised and battered.

He sat upright again and looked around his cell. With its damp stone walls, rather primitive en-suite bathroom (a toilet and a sink with a sign "do not drink this water!" over the top) and ceiling complete with atmospheric cobwebs - it was certainly a pretty depressing place to be. He made use of the facilities then sat back down on his bunk again. It was only then that he noticed that the bunk beds opposite him were both occupied with sleeping figures. He sincerely hoped, whoever they were that when they eventually woke up – they weren't too large or too angry – or even worse, people that he might know. He had a great fear of being in a position where he couldn't escape from people he knew, just in case they asked him awkward questions or horror of horrors - for money.

Sincerely worried, he stood up to look hopefully out onto the long empty corridor, beyond the barred window in the door of the cell, to see if there were any signs of guards around – but there were none. There was only the shouts and groans of other prisoners starting to wake up in neighbouring cells, to break the silence.

Gilderoy's mouth was now starting to feel very dry and he badly needed a drink of water, but didn't dare try any from the sink. After some thought, he at last decided to try his luck at asking for some and called out softly at first, so as to try not to wake his cellmates.

"Hello?" he ventured tentatively, shooting a look over his shoulder to the other side of the cell – but no one stirred.

On getting no response and seeing his cellmates hadn't woken, he dared to try a little louder

"Err..Hello? Is anyone there? I..I need a drink!"

On still hearing no reply, he became a little indignant, momentarily forgetting his previous caution.

"I have rights you know! You have to provide me with adequate food and water at least!"

On still hearing no response and in a fit of pure frustration, he took off his shoe and began to bang on the bars, making a hell of a racket.

"You just press the red button, if you want assistance mate!" said a sleepy voice.

Gilderoy was immediately shocked into silence and his head whipped round towards the source of the helpful advice; that voice sounded worryingly familiar..

As the owner of the voice sat up on his bunk, Gilderoy jumped back in shock and cursed under his breath..was he just in prison, or in hell? His fellow cellmate looked at him and grinned like a Cheshire cat – who'd just been given cream.

"E..l..l..o, I thought I recognised that voice!" announced Fred Weasley cheerfully, then looking up, he shouted to his brother on the top bunk

"Hey George.. wake up! You'll never believe who's come to share a cell with us! It's old 'Lino Lockhart'! Must have brought him in while we were asleep!" then turning back to Gilderoy, "Little worse for wear last night, if you know what I mean!" Fred confided, winking. "Bit of celebrating you see - we'd just clinched a major deal to make some of our patented, quality products for some Magical Joke shop they've got out in Oz.." he stopped to yawn and stretch luxuriously, then went back to smiling at the dumbstruck man now standing before him.

George had by now woken up properly and jumped down from his bunk to sit rather awkwardly beside his brother on his; now Gilderoy had two Cheshire cat's smiling up at him.

To say that these two would probably be the last people he would want to share a cell with at this particular time might be exaggerating a bit, but it came very close.

"How are you mate!" said George cordially andnodding "fancy seeing you here, eh!" he added with a grin

After staggering back to his bunk, Gilderoy at last managed to find his voice.

"Err.. what..what are you in here for then?" He asked nervously, sincerely hoping it wasn't for GBH.

"Oh just a little misunderstanding that's all.. over a joke potion we sold to someone – I mean, how were we supposed to know it was going to have such a bad reaction?" Fred explained "I mean - we shouldn't be responsible for bad usage, should we? But it was someone quite high up in the ministry and he got us on trumped up charges! Our lawyers a genius though – he'll get us out in no time! Well he'd better do, or our Mum 'll have him if he doesn't!"

"Yeah, seeing as he's our Uncle!" George chuckled, raising his eyebrows knowingly at his brother

"Yeah got us out of a lot of scrapes has good old Uncle Mentior!" agreed Fred

"So, what _you_ in here for then?" George enquired, raising his eyebrows questioningly, as he walked over to sit by Gilderoy. Fred joined him, sandwiching the unfortunateman in the middle.

Gilderoy gulped and was about to make up some excuse, when there was the sound of doors being opened in the distance and heavy footsteps coming down the corridor.

Thecell door banged open and a heavy set, balding man, dressed in black robes walked in. He was obviously some sort of court official and was flanked by two other, younger, much larger men, who looked at Gilderoy menacingly.

"Gilderoy Lockhart..I will now read out your charges, as last night you were considered to be in no fit state" the man announced, pausing to look disparagingly down his nose at his intended quarry. Then he continued

"The charges are as follows...

On hearing this, Gilderoy began to panic and looked from left to right at the flame haired men beside him, who now looked as eager as two dogs about to be given the juiciest bone they had ever seen.

He groaned, he'd previously thought things couldn't get any worse, but he'd been wrong...very wrong.

Molly sat at her kitchen table, nursing her sore head, waiting for the morning after potion she'd taken, to do its work.

She was sipping disinterestedly on a cup of herbal tea, deep in thought about what had happened the night before. She'd left Arthur in bed, as after he'd brought her home, he'd had to go back to the Ministry to explain about Gilderoy and had come in pretty late.

A tapping at the window prompted her out of her reverie and she looked up to see a very elegant snowy owl, looking back at her. She stood up, went over to open the window and the owl stepped in. It held out its leg for her to untie the message, she slid it off then opened it up and the first thing she noticed was the Ministry heading. It also said she had to swipe her wand over the page in order to read it, she did so and sat down exitedly

As she read the contents, her mouth opened in shock and she put her handover herheart as if to quell it's quickened pace.

It read

_Dear Mrs Molly Weasley_

_Since receiving your letter some months ago, we have been considering your application and are now pleased to announce that you have been selected to join our training program, which starts at the end of this month._

_We, of course, found out as much as we can about you and heard great things about your skill with the wand, as well as your great resourcefulness and intuitiveness. We feel these are valuable skills in an auror and would be pleased to welcome you to our team. Once you have passed the basic training program you will progress on to specialist training. We of course know that your husband works for us, but we hope that will be no barrier to you!_

_Please send us a reply as soon as possible and we hope to see you soon!_

Goodbye 

_Yours Faithfully_

_Minister of magic_

Molly could hardly contain herself, the thing she had wanted most in the world had just been offered to her. Her heart pounding so hard had made her weak and shaky, sowhen she stood up, her legs could barely hold her weight. Even so, grinning from ear to ear,she rushed to tell Arthur straight awayand began to climbthe stairs, but half way up she stopped and her smile faded.

"What if he gets angry? After all I didn't tell him I was applying. What if he thinks I'm just doing this to check up on him because I don't trust him? Then again what if he already knows and got them to take me?" she said to her self , losing a little of her previous enthusiasm

She looked at the precious letter, sighed and sat down on the steps. She hadn't told him about the application before because she had thought that he'd laugh at her, thinking her not serious. She'd always been a nervous person and having children had made her even worse. She had calmed down a little since most of the kids had grown up, but seemingly to her husband, she still worried about everyone and practically everything. Molly had really wanted to do it though and prove to everyone _and_ herself that she could.

She looked at the letter again, then took a deep breath and set her mouth in a determined line.

"No..that's it! I'm going to tell him and he's either going to like it or lump it! I'm not going to miss out on what is probably my last chance at the career I've always dreamed about!"

Mollymarched up the rest of the stairs and across the landing to her and Arthur's bedroom.

After some length of time she managed to wake her drowsy husband and get him to a state of where he could understand what she was talking about.

After his initial shock at her disclosure, he congratulated her and was genuinely pleased, but had reservations

"What about the kids? Who'll look after them when the summer holidays come?"

"I'll get their older brothers to come and keep an eye out and keep them out of trouble and I'll be here some of the time anyway! I could get my Aunt Clara to come and stay sometimes as well, to help out. And they are old enough to look after themselves most of the time anyway now." Molly reasoned confidently

"Humph! Their brothers are likely to lead them into more trouble!"Arthurcommented with a smile, "and I thought you couldn't stand your Aunt Clara! You said she was a snob who had a thing about half-bloods!"

"Well...she'll just have to learn to like them won't she? I'm serious about this Arthur and I hope you and the kids will support me"

"Of course we will - we all will I'm sure of it!I love you Molly and I want you to be happy, but you know how dangerous our job has become lately...I'll be really worried about you!"

"I know, but..." she sighed and paused "but I really want to do my bit..more than just cooking and cleaning...I want to fight like the rest of you"

"Hmm..I wouldn't want to be the bad guy that gets on the wrong side of you when you're mad, he wouldn't know what had hit him! That left hook you gave Gilderoy, that was unreal! I didn't know you could punch like that!" Arthur laughed

Molly smiled, chuckled then shrugged

"He deserved it the little creep! Anyway I don't want to talk about that now.." her face dropped and she looked down

"It's okay Molly.." Arthur said reassuringly, touching her arm, "I don't blame you, I just want to forget about this whole episode too and get on with our lives. I want to start afresh. I love you the same if not more than I did when we first met, you knowand I don't want anything to get in the way of that, not even being an auror. I'd even stay at home and be a house husband if you wanted me to!"

"Oh my, NO! the house would turn into a junk shop! No Arthur, I think we can work this out..I mean there is no saying we'll be on the same assignments anywaywill there?"

"No, we never know where we're going to be sent most of the time" Arthur agreed

"Well I suppose I'd better write back and tell them I want to accept then," she said sounding determined, but then began to bite her lip uncertainly

"Yes, you'd better" Arthur said encouragingly, smiling and rubbing her hand. "But first, I wonder if you could do me a favour?"

"What?"

"Come and give me a cuddle!"

Arthur pulled his giggling wife into bed, kissed her and stroked her hair lovingly.

"Nothing and no one will get between us again and that's a promise Molly! I think for a while I forgot just how important you were to me and I have Gilderoy to thank for reminding me"

Molly looked thoughtful for a while, then said

"I wonder what he's doing now, I hope he feels guilty for what he's done. It's going to take me ages to undo the damage he's caused. Oh! I'd completely forgotten - the business! I'm going to have to wind that down aren't I? Well I wouldn't want to carry on anyway, not now after what he did. My customers will be disappointed, but maybe I could sell it as a going concern to someone? I'll advertise it in The Daily Prophet"

"Yes, it was a good business -thanks to you, people were always complimenting me on your work,"Arthur agreed, but then pursing his lips added,"but I heard a few rumours about Gilderoy"

"What? You didn't tell me!"

"Oh I thought you would think I was just trying to undermine youor that I was just jealous"

"So what were the rumours about?" she pressed eagerly

"Oh that he was shagging nearly all the female customers, especially rich ones over forty five"

"Oh.." Molly began, then smiled ruefully "I'd thought that was a possibility, but I was in denial. What a fool I was.."

"Don't worry, he took an awful lot of people in, he's good at that, but he won't be able to do anything were he's going, I think he will learn his lesson this time." Arthur assured her, lying back, with his arms behind his head.

After this conversation,Arthur and Molly just lay for a while in each others arms, then Arthur turning to his wife and smiling, said

"I think I'll call in sick today..."

Molly smiled back then giggled as they disappeared under the covers.

Molly did write back accepting the place they offered and began her auror training only stopping to give evidence at Gilderoy's trial. She passed at the top of her class and became the auror she'd always dreamed of being.

Because of her sympathetic and forgiving nature, she pleaded Gilderoys case as he'd aplogised to her and was truly sorry for what he'd done. She'd felt sorry for him as he had looked so pathetic and a shadow of his former self.He was let off on the condition that his wand was broken and he never practised magic again – he agreed. He was sent to Bulgaria as a stable-hand for a dragon breeding centre and spent his time shovelling muck out of the pens- of which there was always a plentiful supply. But knowing Gilderoy he would probably try to find money in it somewhere!

The end


End file.
